Apple Pay Apparently Growing 4x As Fast As PayPal

Apple’s latest earnings report was kind of disappointing, with the company reporting a decline in profit for the last fiscal quarter. Apple did, however, report some interesting new stats during the earnings call.

9to5Mac reports that Tim Cook revealed some new growth stats for Apple Pay during the earnings call. Cook had previously shared details on Apple Pay’s growth during another earnings call from earlier this year, where he compared Apple Pay’s growth with PayPal. And he’s continuing to do the same with the latest earnings call.

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Cook revealed that Apple Pay had seen a 2x growth in revenue and transactions year-over-year, which is pretty impressive. With Apple Pay being live in 49 markets around the world, it brought in over 3 billion transactions during the fourth quarter of 2019.

But more importantly, Cook reported that Apple Pay is growing 4x as fast as PayPal, exceeding PayPal’s total number of transactions. It’s no secret Apple Pay is wildly popular, but you have to remember that Apple Pay and PayPal operate in different ways, with Apple Pay being way more accessible than PayPal. So at the end of the day, the 4x growth rate, when compared to PayPal, isn’t all that impressive.

Either way, with Apple continuing to push ahead in the financial services market, Apple Pay and its other services like Apple Card will likely grow faster than ever before. The company is even working on offering new deals for Apple Card users and plans to let them buy new iPhones with a 0% interest with the Apple Card.

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Conversation 20 comments

  • tmikolaj

    31 October, 2019 - 8:57 am

    <p>Exactly, I can use Apple Pay in the store, and most people use it like that, while I cannot really use PayPal like that. On the other hand PayPal is very popular in online transactions, while Apple Pay I would say is nonexistent there. Also, PayPal exists since 2001/2002, Apple Pay since 2014, so its difficult to expect the same grow rate from nearly 20-years old product! Its like comparing apples and oranges, pun intended.</p>

  • thejoefin

    Premium Member
    31 October, 2019 - 10:35 am

    <p>Apple Pay uses existing card, does Apple Pay cash actually have more transactions than PayPal? That would be a much more interesting metric.</p>

  • MikeGalos

    31 October, 2019 - 10:41 am

    <p>Of course. Growth rates of a new product had better be faster than the growth rate on the established and dominant leader in a category. Going from 1 to 2 is a 2x growth rate but pretty terrible results when your competitor went from 500 to 750 even though your "growth rate" was four times as good. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

    • red.radar

      Premium Member
      31 October, 2019 - 10:58 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#485123">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>What is interesting is the volume of transactions already exceed PayPal. </p>

      • Stooks

        31 October, 2019 - 11:53 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#485125">In reply to red.radar:</a></em></blockquote><p>Exactly and that is Yuge! Paypal is almost the common name used for any non standard (cash, check, credit card) payment method, like Kleenex is to tissue or coke is to any soda.</p><p><br></p><p>To surpass Paypal in such a short time speaks to the success of the product. Working in IT security and heavily with POS systems, Apple pay is currently the most secure payment method out there. Other token based payment systems are probably as good but I am not sure about their equivalent of Apple's "Secure Enclave" that is on the iPhone.</p>

        • Jeffsters

          31 October, 2019 - 12:55 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#485154">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>The privacy aspects are a major reason some retailers, like Walmart, don’t accept it. Unless tagged to a loyalty program, which Walmart doesn’t have as part of keeping costs low, the retailer can’t determine who the customer is when using Apple Pay. When you use a credit card, or other traceable tender, a retailer can match you and create a profile about you, use it to better merchandise stores, provide more relevant offers, etc. With Apple Pay the retailer gets no data and that’s been a sticking point for some like Walmart. </p>

          • Andi

            31 October, 2019 - 5:04 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#485174">In reply to Jeffsters:</a></em></blockquote><p>Your transactions are still transparent to the bank and the bank itself can and will monetize them. Walmart has a reasonable expectation in exactly the same way Apple knows exactly how many apps and when you purchased out of their app store.</p>

          • Stooks

            31 October, 2019 - 9:31 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#485174">In reply to Jeffsters:</a></em></blockquote><p>Actually you are wrong. Walmart HATES credit cards period. Because they are so big they pay huge amount of credit card fees every year. Over 250 million a year the last I read. </p><p><br></p><p>Walmart started its own credit card and its own mobile pay system to get around those fees. This is why they wont take Apple Pay.</p>

        • Andi

          31 October, 2019 - 5:10 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#485154">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>No doubt it's successful but you forget one thing. There is no competition on an iphone. Apple keeps the NFC locked so as not even your own bank's app can make payments the way it can make on an Android phone. </p><p><br></p><p>Apple pay is first and foremost about Apple's cut. Security is relatively easy. All payment solutions(Apple, Google, Samsung) use the same protocol, an industry standard.</p>

          • Stooks

            31 October, 2019 - 9:34 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#485334">In reply to Andi:</a></em></blockquote><p>If Apple pay takes basically any credit card, including my bank/debit card, then why do I care if you can't use another payment system on a iPhone. I am not paying any extra to use Apple pay.</p>

            • Andi

              01 November, 2019 - 12:55 pm

              <blockquote><em><a href="#485424">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Apple pay only takes cards from banks enroled in Apple pay. If theoretically you could choose your own bank's app versus Apple pay, how many users would have stuck to Apple pay only.</p><p><br></p><p>My angle is that being the only game in town makes it easy to surpass everyone else.</p>

    • jgraebner

      Premium Member
      31 October, 2019 - 3:05 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#485123">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'd be surprised if the volume of transactions didn't exceed PayPal as they are almost entirely different products. Apple Pay (as well as Google Pay and Samsung Pay) are intended for day to day, routine transactions while PayPal is focused on online purchases and person-to-person payments. I wouldn't be surprised if all three Apple, Google, and Samsung have higher total volumes than PayPal.</p><p><br></p><p>What would be more surprising is if Apple Pay exceeds PayPal in volume for the types of transactions that PayPal specializes in, but they pretty conspicuously aren't saying that…</p>

      • Jeffsters

        31 October, 2019 - 3:42 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#485271">In reply to jgraebner:</a></em></blockquote><p>Actually I would suggest you Google PayPal’s strategy. </p>

  • Chris Payne

    31 October, 2019 - 2:01 pm

    <p>This site just cannot be positive about any Apple announcements at all.</p>

    • toukale

      31 October, 2019 - 3:55 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#485214">In reply to unkinected:</a></em></blockquote><p>Negative stories sells. No different to a week or so earlier when some sites decided to focus on xbox and surface lack of growth news despite Microsoft reporting fantastic results. You have to be a critical reader of news, ask yourself who's writing the story and what their agenda is. You do that, you will be able to see behind all the agenda/bias and propaganda surrounding all of us. </p>

    • Andi

      31 October, 2019 - 5:13 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#485214">In reply to unkinected:</a></em></blockquote><p>All CEOs cherry pick what they disclose. Paypal is not meant for groceries. Apple Pay is. Paypal is multiplatform, Apple Pay isn't.</p>

      • Stooks

        31 October, 2019 - 9:26 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#485335">In reply to Andi:</a></em></blockquote><p>Apple pay is out performing the much older and established PayPal…..end of story.</p>

        • Daishi

          Premium Member
          01 November, 2019 - 7:37 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#485422">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>And I’m sure the fact that iOS 13 continually pesters you if you haven’t setup Apple Pay has nothing to do with that</p>

  • Daekar

    01 November, 2019 - 9:20 am

    <p>I tried Apple Pay for the first time (only card in the Wallet is a corporate travel card) and it was fine. Basically the same experience as Samsung Pay but only works with TTP terminals.</p><p>I don't know why people wouldn't use these kind of services.</p>

  • Lordbaal

    03 November, 2019 - 11:25 am

    <p>Apple is taking what they're saying and just cherry picking. And bending the truth.</p><p>This site won't let me post the link, but Google PayPal Reports Third Quarter 2019 Results, and click on the first link. You'll see thee truth for yourself. Not just Apple's truth.</p>

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