Raynor de Best
Research expert covering finance, insurance & real-estate, internet & e-commerce
Get in touch with us nowAssessing Apple Pay’s market size
How many users does Apple Pay have exactly across various countries in the world? Apple itself does not share this information, although there are estimates that the number of iPhone users that activated Apple Pay grew by more than 65 million people in 2020. This same estimate also assumes active iPhones grew by nine percent during 2020, alongside a worldwide increase of contactless payments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, China had the highest penetration rate for in-store mobile payments in the world – although it is unlikely Apple Pay plays a major role here given the local popularity of apps like Alipay and Tenpay.Mobile payments: what, and where?
Mobile payments are cashless payments performed exclusively with a mobile device. This includes payments done with so-called wallets on a smartphone – like in a brick-and-mortar store with Apple Pay, or during an online purchase with PayPal from home. The market size of these mobile wallet transactions is predicted to double between 2020 and 2025 in North America, although the Asian market is forecast to be significantly bigger. One notable type of mobile payment that is set to grow is that of QR codes: QR codes were used more in Europe than in Latin America in 2020, but the LATAM region is expected to have overtaken Europe markedly in 2025. Mobile payments, however, also includes transactions through telecom networks and SMS formats. These so-called mobile money transactions are popular in Africa – where most people do not have access to financial services but do have a (smart)phone.
