Loup Ventures’ industry analyst Gene Munster predicts Apple Pay will become an ever-increasingly important piece of the Apple services income pie. He estimates the contactless payments solution now has around 253 million users worldwide.
Apple reported in July that its fiscal third quarter earnings included a record $9.5 billion in services revenue. That is a 31% leap over the same time one year earlier.
Munster has long argued that Apple’s services businesses will continue to become an important part of Apple’s income stream. Munster now asserts that Apple Pay is set to gain a huge growth in usage.
“There are currently 24 countries where Apple Pay is accepted, soon be 25 with the addition of Germany later this year,” Munster wrote. “We now estimate total Apple Pay user base at about 253 million (International at 215m, US at 38m). This means the percentage of Apple Pay users in the U.S. has decreased to 15% and international has increased to 85%.”
Munster also sees Apple beginning to emphasize its payments solution in its upcoming iPhone ads. It will also gain increased traction from its unique status as a payment system available on mobile, desktop, in-app, peer to peer, and point of sale platforms.