EXCLUSIVE— Apple will continue to widen the reach of its mobile payment service Apple Pay by adding new ecommerce capabilities and bringing the feature to new countries, CEO Tim Cook said during yesterday’s earnings call.
The service will be expanding to Brazil in “the coming months,” Cook said on the Q417 earnings call, though no exact launch date was provided. Brazil will join the other 20 markets that currently have access to the service, including China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and the United States.
In the U.S., merchant adoption grew 50% YoY, meaning it is now accepted at “more than two-thirds of the country’s top 100 retailers,” Cook said. Purchase volume using the service “more than tripled” YoY, he added, though he did not provide an exact figure.
Cook said on the call:
Today, you can use Apple Pay to take a subway in Guangzhou, China, see a concert at London’s Wembley Stadium or buy a souvenir in Yosemite National Park. In the U.S., we launched Apple Pay Cash in December, and it’s off to a terrific start.
Millions of people are already using it to send and receive money with friends and family quickly, easily and securely; to split a bill, pay someone back, or send last minute gift right from the messages app.
In addition to its Brazil expansion, Apple Pay will also be testing out some ecommerce features, including a “Buy With Apple Pay” button for businesses. The button will be created through a partnership between Apple and Volusion, a small business ecommerce platform, the companies announced earlier in the week.
The “Buy” button will be for merchants on Volusion’s platform, eliminating the need for businesses on the network to make consumers enter their billing, shipping, or payment information for every purchase.
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