Despite some success in the United States, Apple Pay is reportedly facing an uphill battle in its other markets across the globe.
According to a report from Reuters, early adoption of the service has been slow and plagued by technical difficulties in Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada and China following recent launches in those countries.
Though Reuters said anecdotal evidence holds Apply Pay is popular with Apple customers in China, Britain and Australia, but faces competition from similar mobile and contactless pay products from banks. Technical glitches have also marred Apple Pay’s launch in Australia, including transaction failures on machines supported by the mid-sized Bendigo Bank.
Apple vice president Jennifer Bailey said the roll out of new technology takes time, but Apple is hoping to push adoption of the payment service as quickly as possible. And for good reason.
According to a February TrendForce report, total revenue from mobile payment systems in 2016 is expected to hit a whopping $620 billion, up from $450 billion in 2015, the report said. The figure represents a massive 37.8 percent year-over-year growth. By 2019, mobile payment revenues are forecast to reach $1.08 trillion, the report said.
Capturing some of that revenue may be a boon for Apple in the midst of a declining smartphone market.
Though it previously forecast smartphone shipment growth would sink into the single digits this year, International Data Corporation (IDC) recently cut its forecast nearly in half from 5.7 percent growth to just 3.1 percent growth.
IDC said Apple shipments are expected to slide from 232 million last year to 227 million this year, but noted the tech giant could likely return to iPhone growth in 2017 on the strength of its early trade-in program, lower cost iPhone SE and potential growth and penetration in the Chinese and Indian markets.
