Payments administered via smartphone are a burgeoning financial sector. Cook said 1m credit cards were activated for Apple Pay use within 72 hours of its availability in the US last year, making it the largest mobile payment system to date. In the wake of Apple Pay, both Samsung and Google have announced their respective rivals Samsung Pay and Android Pay, though neither have launched in the UK as of yet. Apple Pay users are more satisfied than other contactless payment users, with over a third of shoppers who owned an Apple device using the service, a report from customer research firm eDigitalResearch suggested. British consumers are increasingly turning to contactless payment methods, after more than £2.5bn was spent using contactless cards during the first six months of 2015, the UK Cards Association has said. Last month, the association raised the limit payable by contactless cards in single transactions from £20 to £30. In the US, around 16.4m smartphone 'proximity payments' were made during 2014, according to research from market researcher eMarketer. The firm predicts that figure will more than double to reach 37.5bn by 2016.
Apple has announced a partnership with Apple Express to bring its mobile wallet , apple Pay , to eligible American Express customers in Canada and Australia later this year , with access ##ibility to Spain , Singapore , and Hong Kong in 2016 . Apple ’s CEO bill Cook said , “ We ’re working with American partners to bring Apple Pay to eligible customers in key global markets , so even more people can experience the easy , secure , and private way to pay ” . Apple Pay expects to see more rapid adoption of its service in Canada than in the US , as apple has a higher proportion of payment terminals equipped with the contactless technology offered by Apple Pay .