Digital payment systems are still quite new but the market is quickly expanding. Apple Pay, for example, is currently only available in six countries but the tech giant is looking to expand to many more in the years to come.
According to Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey. She recently has detailed that the company has expanded its existing service in Singapore, which now supports five major banks and covering more than 80 percent of cards. The other five countries where Apple Pay is accepted are: China, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and, of course, the United States.
Bailey, a former Netscape executive, says, “We’re working rapidly in Asia and also in Europe, our goal is to have Apple Pay in every significant market Apple is in.”
Bailey goes on to say, “We have announced Hong Kong [and], across the [Asia Pacific] region, we’re talking to many partners and banks and evaluating how quickly we can bring Apple Pay to new markets.”
Obviously, expansion in China will be the most lucrative; after all, this is the most populous country and one of the biggest markets for Apple. Furthermore, Singapore and Hong Kong are small markets but possess many traits similar to Western markets. Bailey also explains a little on the strategy and process for deciding where to go next and when to make the move.
“First,” she adds, “we look at the size of the market for Apple products. We also look at credit and debit card penetration, and [existing] contactless payment coverage [But] when we bring Apple Pay to market even when contactless is low, it will grow — it was 4 percent in the U.S. but is now 20 percent. We also work with our network partners, where we can utilize integration with Amex and Visa, to go to market quickly.”
Currently, Apple Pay covers 2,5000 bank locations throughout the United States, which is significantly higher than the initial six. China’s initial offering was 12 banks and they have improved accessibility to now include 19 banks.
