BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—More payments analysts are saying that the slow-moving chip transaction, backing up lines at checkout counters across the U.S., is a boon for digital wallets.
Now Apple Pay indicates that its usage took off in the latter half of 2015.
“Consumers have spent billions of dollars with Apple Pay. In the second half of 2015, we saw a significant acceleration in usage, with a growth rate 10 times higher than in the first half of the year,” Apple CEO Tim Cook noted on Apple's Q1 2016 earnings call.
The EMV liability shift deadline, which began the shift to EMV in earnest in the U.S., occurred Oct. 1, 2015.
Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com, said that given how painfully slow EMV cards are proving to be, a growing number of consumers are choosing to put away their “chip cards in favor of Apple Pay, Android Pay, and other smartphone-based payment systems.”
Biometric identification, such as Apple’s Touch ID, is also adding to mobile wallet convenience, experts have stated.
Mobile payments are expected to top $700 billion within two years and, according to Bank of America estimates, will rise to $3 trillion by 2022.