Apple Pay Usage Estimated to Rise Sharply in United States Due to Frustration With Slow Chip-and-PIN Cards

Contactless payment methods like Apple Pay will rise sharply in the United States, from less than 2 percent of transactions this year to 34 percent by 2022, according to a new report shared by research firm Juniper Research.

Payment terminal with chip-and-PIN card support via Worldpay
Juniper Research argued that customer dissatisfaction at the slower speeds of chip card transactions, like chip-and-signature or chip-and-PIN, will further increase the adoption of smartphone-based payments, an area currently dominated by Apple Pay.

The transition towards contactless payments, and even the EMV standard that chip-and-PIN cards are based on, has been much slower in the United States compared to many other countries around the world.

In Canada, for example, chip-and-PIN cards have been common for over five years, while at least 80 percent of Canadian retailers are now accepting contactless payments, according to payment processor MONEXgroup.

Juniper Research expects the United States to follow a similar growth curve as Europe, where EMV and contactless payments are also widespread.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently confirmed Apple Pay momentum is "strongest in international markets," where he said the infrastructure for mobile payments has developed faster than in the United States.

Cook added that three out of four Apple Pay transactions happen outside of the U.S., where the service first launched in October 2014.

Apple Pay will support Venmo-like peer-to-peer payments in the Messages app on iOS 11, starting in the United States. Apple Pay is also expanding to Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates later this year.