It's almost like Apple's virtual wallet and digital watch were made for each other. A new study shows a huge gulf in Apple Pay usage between the Apple Watch and iPhone.
About 80 percent of Apple Watch users with the means to use Apple Pay have used Apple Pay, according to a new report from Wristly.
"By comparison, the various surveys published in 2015 in the U.S. assess Apple Pay usage level on iPhone 6 at around 15 percent to 20 percent," stated Wristly in its report.
The study found that most Apple Watch wearers used Apple Pay first on their iPhones, but about 19 percent of people sporting Apple's wrist-worn computer used the company's digital wallet first on the Watch.
For that 20 percent of Watch wearers who still haven't paid up with Apple's financial service, Wristly concluded that about 5 percent of those individuals have yet to "perceive a benefit" from Apple Pay. About 5 percent are concerned about the Apple Watch's security and about 15 percent of that roughly 20 percent indicated that their "payment needs are being met."
Here are the top eight reasons people still don't use Apple Pay, according to Wristly:
1. My bank doesn't support it yet.
2. I don't know which stores support Apple Pay.
3. Other
4. It's not available in my country.
5. I haven't set it up yet.
6. My payment needs are already being met.
7. I'm concerned over the security of Apple Pay.
8. I don't see the value in using it.
Despite its relatively lackluster usage levels on iPhones, Apple Pay still has potential and that's thanks to the Apple Watch. As the Watch gains market share, Apple Pay should grow to have a significant impact on the payments processing industry, according to Wristly.
"With 81 percent claiming to use Apple Pay regularly for retail grocery type shopping and 60 percent using it for everyday recurring type services like purchasing a coffee at Starbucks, Apple Pay has the potential to become a strategically important payment method," Wristly stated.
As Apple tries to expand Apple Pay's reach, rival Samsung has its eyes on the mobile payments market as well and it has an edge. While Apple Pay requires NFC (Near Field Communications) terminals, Samsung Pay will use Magnetic Secure Transmission technology so that its smartphones can emulate the swipe of a credit card. Essentially, Samsung Pay can be used anywhere credit cards are accepted.
