As an entrepreneurship consultant who assists small business owners daily, I encounter a lot of questions around accepting mobile payments. Many clients specifically ask if they should set up Apple Pay.
I wholeheartedly recommend any brick-and-mortar or e-commerce business offer Apple Pay in 2024. Over my 10 years advising entrepreneurs on payments solutions, I‘ve seen Apple Pay adoption absolutely explode for good reason.
Below I‘ll share 10 of the most important up-to-date Apple Pay statistics I‘m seeing, along with some insight from my experience helping clients implement mobile wallet payments. My goal is to help you make the right payment decisions to save money and better serve customers.
1. 536 Million Global Apple Pay Users and Growing
Apple Pay hit 536 million global users in 2024, a 14.4 million user jump from 2021. Apple‘s mobile wallet has seen massive adoption since its 2014 launch, with no signs of slowing.
Projections put Apple Pay on track to hit 650 million users by 2025. This makes Apple the top digital wallet provider at over double its nearest competitor, PayPal.[1]
For small businesses, this signals enormous potential to capture mobile-savvy customers both locally and globally.
2. 51% of iPhone Owners Activated Apple Pay
While Apple Pay is cross-platform, iPhone users unsurprisingly lead adoption. 51% of iPhone owners have activated Apple Pay payments as of 2022.[2]
Android phones require variable OS versions and hardware to work with Apple Pay. But any iPhone model from the iPhone 6 onward supports it.
This means if you run a small business with a loyal local iPhone customer base, half your patrons likely use Apple Pay already.
3. Gen Z and Millennials Drive Growth
A 2022 survey found Gen Z users age 18-25 utilize Apple Pay in-store more than any other generation at 79%.[3] 73.1% of Gen Z use it weekly.[4] Millennials have a 51% weekly usage rate.
But less than half of Baby Boomers have adopted it. This signals that Gen Z and Millennials are driving the growth in mobile payments.
If your small business targets a youthful demographic, Apple Pay is almost a requirement these days. But Boomers still need traditional options too.
4. 60 Million U.S. Users Expected by End of 2023
As of 2022, nearly 50 million Americans were using Apple Pay. That number is projected to hit 60 million U.S. users by the end of 2023.[5]
To put this in perspective, only an estimated 45 million households worldwide used Starbucks mobile payments in 2021.[6] Apple Pay‘s growth is staggering.
For small retailers, food trucks, salons – you name it – chances have never been higher that U.S. customers will expect to pay with a mobile wallet.
5. 27% of U.S. and U.K. Citizens Use Apple Pay
By late 2021, 27% of surveyed citizens reported using Apple Pay payments in both the United States and United Kingdom.[7]
The U.K. leads the pack globally in contactless payments, with 1 in 4 transactions now paid via mobile.[8] The U.S. lags slightly behind in adoption, but still demonstrates immense market penetration.
For small e-commerce businesses, supporting Apple Pay could capture over a quarter of your potential U.S. and U.K. customers today.
6. Apple Pay Transaction Volume Up 10x Since 2018
Worldwide Apple Pay transaction volume has multiplied by a staggering 10x between 2018 and 2022.[9]
As consumers shift spending from cash to mobile payments, Apple Pay has been a top beneficiary. This trajectory is projected to continue with mobile payments expected to hit $12.06 billion in volume by 2025.[10]
The revenue opportunity for global small e-tailers supporting Apple Pay is immense thanks to this volume growth.
7. Over 40,000 U.S. Issuers Participate
In the U.S. alone, over 40,000 banks and credit unions issue Apple Pay compatible cards for customers to add to their digital wallets.[11]
Top issuers include American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Goldman Sachs, KeyBank, PNC, Regions Bank, TD, Synchrony Financial, USAA, Wells Fargo, and hundreds more financial institutions.[11]
This wide issuance suggests almost all small business customers will carry card options to enable Apple Pay.
8. Security & Privacy Lead Benefits
What drives Apple Pay‘s advantage for merchants and consumers? Users and industry analysts cite security, privacy, convenience, speed, and ease of use as top functional benefits.[12]
Apple Pay utilizes near field communication (NFC) tokens and unique transaction codes to prevent fraud. Biometrics like fingerprint or face ID authorize payments, with credit/debit card numbers never shared.[12]
For small retailers, these features help prevent chargebacks and liability while pleasing privacy-minded customers.
9. Over 200,000 Websites Accept It
Apple Pay has over 200,000 online merchants integrated in the U.S. alone, ranging from enterprise brands to Shopify small businesses.[11] Top adopters include DoorDash, Instacart, Trader Joe‘s, Panera Bread, Whole Foods Market, Best Buy, T-Mobile, Warby Parker, Staples, and many more.[11]
Omnichannel and mobile-first small retailers must hop on board to keep up with larger competitors supporting Apple Pay‘s swift rise.
10. Under $100 to Accept In-Store
I always recommend my brick-and-mortar clients use Square hardware terminals, which enable Apple Pay acceptance for free. Square charges competitive transaction fees around 2.6% + 10¢ for contactless payments.
The Square Reader for contactless and chip is only $49.[13] Competitors Clover, Velocity, and PayPal Zettle also offer NFC readers between $49-$79. I haven‘t seen effective terminals go much lower except for specialty Black Friday deals. So under $100 gets you started.
While hardware represents a small investment, mobile payments provide serious ROI in faster checkout times and increased spending limits over cash. I‘ve seen Customers pay 2-3x more per transaction using mobile wallets, on average. In my opinion, Apple Pay is a no-brainer for most modern small businesses with brick-and-mortar locations.
The Bottom Line
This snapshot of current Apple Pay statistics confirms its immense industry growth and potential for small businesses to meet shifting consumer preferences.
Considering rapid adoption across demographics, I suggest most merchants accept Apple Pay by 2023 or risk losing customers to competitors that do. With reasonable hardware costs and boosted order values, supporting mobile wallet payments makes smart business sense.
Do you have experience accepting Apple Pay or questions on getting set up? As an entrepreneurship consultant, I‘m always happy to offer guidance! Feel free to drop me a line.
