Apple Remains Dominant Player In Mobile Wallet Space For Debit Transactions, Says Study

Apple Inc.’s AAPL Apple Pay continued to be dominant player in the mobile wallet space for debit transactions in the United States last year, according to a study by electronics fund transfer firm Pulse, a subsidiary of Discover Financial Services DFS.

What Happened: Mobile wallet debit transactions grew by more than 50% to about 2 billion last year, as per Pulse's annual 2021 Debit Issuer Study, conducted by Oliver Wyman.

Apple Pay accounted for 92% of all mobile wallet debit transactions in 2020, while rivals Samsung Pay and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google Pay accounted for 5% and 3% of the transactions, respectively.

The study also found that the number of debit transactions declined for the first time ever in 2020, falling 2.5% year-over-year, while overall debit spend rose 14%.

See Also: Why Regulatory Risk Is A Silver Lining For Apple And Google

Why It Matters: Apple’s iPhone-based payment service is widely accepted across U.S. stores and is seeing increased retail adoption in the U.S.

Launched in the U.S. in 2014, Apple Pay enables users to add a credit or debit card for secure contactless and in-app payments.

It was reported in July that Apple is working on a plan to offer a “buy now, pay later” product, known internally as Apple Pay Later, in partnership with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS. The new service will allow consumers to pay for any Apple Pay purchase in installments.

Price Action: Apple shares closed almost 1.4% higher in Monday’s trading at $151.12, while Discover Financial Services shares closed almost 0.5% lower at $134.77.

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