Scooch, MasterCard, only Visa beats Apple Pay transactions now
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After a tepid start, Apple Pay has now grown into a veritable payment transaction behemoth. According to one analysis by Trading Platforms, transactions through Apple Pay have now reached $6 trillion on an annual basis, beating a payment processing stalwart like MasterCard.
Even if the calculations are a bit off, as Apple Pay sits on top of other payment networks, it's unfathomable to think what it has become in the years since it was introduced to low expectations.
Needless to say, its proprietary POS system has played a huge role, but also the proliferation of iPhones and the greatly increased market share of Apple devices you can make quick payments with. According to Edith Reads from Trading Platforms:
Apple Pay is increasingly becoming the go-to payment method for consumers and businesses alike. The fact that it has now processed more transactions than Mastercard is a testament to its popularity. Already, it has outdone Mastercard with only VISA remaining on top. Apple Pay has an undue advantage and benefits from their monopoly on iPhone NFC hardware. We expect to see Apple Pay continue to grow in popularity and market share in the coming years.
Apple still has a lot of catching up to do until it reaches Visa's $10 trillion in annual transactions, but the sheer fact that it is a runner-up without really trying to be a financial company is breathtaking. Apple provides payment services and credit cards together with Goldman Sachs as a side hustle, but its financial business is apparently growing leaps and bounds.
Apple Pay transactions ranking
Mastercard is actually the fourth largest payment company now, after Visa, Apple, and the Chinese system AliPay, while Google Pay is fifth, even though Apple doesn't do much processing per se, bur rather piggybacks on existing infrastructure.
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