Soon, there will be 1.5 million chances for you to bump into Apple Pay.
That’s because Apple Pay is expected to be in 1.5 million locations in the United States by the end of 2015. Last week, Apple Pay launched in the United Kingdom, and scored 250,000 locations “on Day One,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
Cook offered several details regarding Apple Pay as part of his quarterly briefing to investors yesterday on Apple Inc.’s performance. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Apple expects the new Square reader, which will be released this fall, to materially increase Apple Pay’s availability at retail outlets;
- Apple Pay is being adopted by 80,000 small- and medium-sized businesses per month in the US right now;
- American Express will add Apple Pay support for its portfolio of corporate cards next month; and
- 700 universities and colleges across the U.S. now accept Apple Pay.
The Amex news is particularly noteworthy, considering its reach in business cards. Amex, which releases its 2Q15 earnings later today, had $43.7 billion of worldwide card receivables outstanding.
What is more interesting is what Cook did not say yesterday, and that is anything regarding consumer adoption. For example, it would have been valuable to know how many iPhone users have activated Apple Pay and how many are using it. Well, there’s always the third quarter earnings.