It was announced recently at the Code Mobile conference that Starbucks, KFC and Chili’s will begin to accept Apple Pay through Apple phones and watches. This may end up being more beneficial to Apple then to the merchants. There have been many industry reports showing that Apple Pay is having difficulty holding on to their initial usage rates achieved when they launched a year ago. Apple dismissed those reports and focused on their achievements:
I have to say in the last year of working on Apple Pay, we’ve sees a sea change in momentum around acceptance at the merchant level,
” Bailey [Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay] said, adding that about 80 percent of Apple Watch owners “very actively” use Apple Pay. Apple Pay will hit KFC restaurants in the spring and Chili’s restaurants in 2016 as a “pay at the table” model, she said.
The success of the Starbucks Apple Pay partnership in particular may weigh heavily on Apple’s ability to tie into the much heralded Starbucks loyalty program.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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