With a recent report showing an Apple Pay usage decrease, people are beginning to wonder what the future of the mobile payment platform will look like. Some say it’s dying. Others say it just needs time. But perhaps, the main driver of Apple Pay adoption has been in front of us all along.
The key to Apple Pay adoption may not be a phone
Apple Pay debuted with the iPhone 6. And like most people, we assumed that an amazing smartphone such as the iPhone 6 would be able to drive a successful mobile payment platform. But instead, the answer may lie in what was taking place prior to the iPhone 6.
In 2014, Disney completed their rollout of the Disney Magic Band. This band allows for Disney goers to enter theme parks, use fast passes, open their hotel room, and best of all, purchase items from Disney stores. This was the true beginning of a different type of payment platform.
Disney goers had no problem leaving their hotel keys, theme park tickets, and credit cards behind for the Disney Magic Band. The Disney Magic Band is proof that consumers are in fact willing to give up the traditional way of doing things for a better more convenient service. And I believe the Disney Magic Band has potentially shown us what could fully drive Apple Pay adoption.
Are wearables going to be the driver of mobile payments?
While most people are always an arm’s reach away from their phone, they are also an arm’s reach away from their wallet. If a woman is reaching in her purse for her wallet, is it really more convenient for her to grab her phone instead?
A wearable doesn’t require a consumer to do anything but tap and pay. They don’t need to rummage through their pockets or dig through their purse. Their mobile payment platform is sitting right on their wrist. This is providing true convenience, just as the Disney Magic Band does within Disney parks.
While wearables provide the most convenient form of mobile payment, there is also another reason I believe they could drive mobile payment adoption. Wearables in their current form have limited uses. Most are fitness based that help you track your activity throughout the day. Adding other uses to these fitness trackers has already begun, and mobile payments is one of them. The Jawbone Fitness tracker is a perfect example. While NFC payments and fitness tracking may not seem like something that goes together, it could actually work quite well for mobile payments.
Mobile payments with the Jawbone and Apple Watch are much more than just a convenient way to pay when you are going for a run and want to stop and get something to drink. They will get more people thinking about mobile payments. As of now, Apple Pay has to compete with all the other features in the iPhone. People rarely learn everything about their phone and typically only learn how to use main features, such as siri(which some people still have no idea how to use). But with mobile payments entering itself into wearables, it will cause people to pay attention. If a person buys a Jawbone or an Apple Watch, their is only so much that they can do with it. So they will look at all the features and what it is capable of. This gives wearable consumers a good chance of discovering mobile payments.
It is these two reasons why I believe wearables will help mobile payment adoption. Mobile payments with wearables are extremely quick, easy, and convenient. And with the current problem for mobile payments being that most people just haven’t decided to give it a try, wearables will help. People who use wearables will explore all the features of their wearable and learn more about mobile payments. This will drive to higher adoption rates. On top of these two reasons, according to a new report from Tractica, wearable payment transaction volume will grow from $3.1 billion in 2015 to $501.1 billion worldwide by 2020. That is a very large growth prediction.
But will the Apple Watch really drive Apple Pay adoption?
No the Apple Watch is not as simple as the Jawbone. But it still has limited uses. I personally have went out of my way to try and find more uses for my Apple Watch, Apple Pay being one of them. And if wearables are going to increase the amount of mobile payments made, then it would make sense that the Apple Watch would drive Apple Pay adoption. The other reason why Apple Pay adoption could increase is because Apple Watch sales are about to increase. Apple is predicting big numbers in holiday sales for the Watch. And with watch OS2 right around the corner, I think we can expect Apple Watch sales to increase.
Whether or not Apple Watch sales increase or if the Apple Watch leads to Apple Pay adoption. We do know that mobile payments and wearables are just getting started. Their are plenty of companies trying to incorporate mobile payments into just about everything, including rings, glasses, and even putting an nfc chip into your favorite watch. So it’s safe to say we can expect wearables and mobile payments to have a future together.
