Google Wallet sees a jump in use after Apple Pay launch
When Apple Pay was first announced, our first reaction was that this would end up being good for the entire mobile payment ecosystem. Not only does Apple have a way with bringing attention to a product segment that should get more buzz, but Apple was also jumping in at a time when retailers were going to be switching over to NFC-capable payment terminals anyway. We assumed this would be good for Google Wallet, and it turns out it has been.
According to a source for Ars Technica, weekly Google Wallet transactions have increased by 50 percent; and, new Google Wallet users were nearly doubled in October compared to September. These are certainly positive numbers, but we'll have to keep watching in order to see if this is actually the beginning of an upward trend for Google Wallet and mobile payments in general; or, if this is a short-term spike because of all the attention that the Apple Pay launch has generated.
Apple notably claimed that 1 million cards were activated on Apple Pay in the first 72 hours after its release. But, as impressive as that sounds, it is still just a small fraction of iPhone 6 users. Similarly, Google Wallet usage hasn't been all that high; so, a 50 percent increase in transactions, and double the number of new users may not really add up to much overall. Still, every new trend has to start somewhere.
source: Ars Technica
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