The number of iPhone users globally that have activated Apple Pay has grown by 66m over the past year, from 441m in September 2019 to 507m in September 2020, according to a study published by Loup Ventures.

The increase means that 51% of iPhone users have now activated Apple Pay, up from 48% last year.

The number of Apple Pay transactions has been “growing north of 30% over the past six months,” Loup Venture’s fourth annual Apple Pay availability study also found.

The figures are based on an estimated 9% growth in the number of active iPhones from 915m to 1bn in the 12 months to September 2020.

The study says there has also been a “20%-plus increased adoption from banks and top retailers across desktop sites, mobile web and apps”.

The number of banks supporting Apple Pay has increased to 5,480 globally while “just under 30% of top retailers offer Apple Pay on desktop, 40% on mobile, and 43% in apps”.

“We no longer track Apple Pay adoption at in-store point-of-sale systems,” the analysts say.

“That said, in January 2019, Apple announced that Apple Pay was accepted at 74 of the top 100 US retailers and available at 65% of all US retail locations. Now, we estimate these numbers are about 95 of 100 and 85%, respectively, as more consumers are using contactless payments during the pandemic to avoid spreading germs.”

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