This simple comparison shows how well Apple Pay has taken off
David Chartier, on his blog Finer Things In Tech, found a really simple way to visualize Apple Pay's growth since its October launch.
When Apple first introduced Apple Pay back in September, the company proudly boasted that you could use its safe, contactless payments solution for iPhone in about a dozen different retailers. But, just a few months later, during Apple's Q4 earnings call in January, CEO Tim Cook said Apple Pay accounted for two out of three dollars spent via contactless payments.
Here's a look at how many stores accepted Apple Pay when the product first launched in October 2014, versus how many stores accept it now - nearly five months later:
That's 15 versus 47 (and soon to be 53).
Apple Pay isn't available anywhere - only merchants that have special near-field communication (NFC) pads can support Apple's new service - but a new survey from Boston Retail Partners does indicate that nearly 40% of all large US retailers plan to support it by the end of next year.