It appears that Apple Pay is actually used by individuals after all.

As more people use their smartphones to make purchases of products and services, Apple Pay spending has apparently reached a new high.

According to recent information from TradingPlatforms.com, the mobile payments service processed more than $6 trillion in payments in the past year, surpassing Mastercard's annual spending total.

Apple Pay is now the second-largest facilitator of digital payments, according to the report(opens in new tab), which cites Statista data. However, it is still far behind market leader Visa, which over the same period facilitated around $10 trillion in payments.

Success with Apple Pay

According to Edith Reads of TradingPlatforms.com, "Apple Pay is fast becoming the preferred payment method for consumers and businesses alike." Its popularity is evidenced by the fact that it has currently completed more transactions than Mastercard. It has already surpassed Mastercard, leaving just Visa as the leader. Because Apple controls the entire market for iPhone NFC hardware, Apple Pay enjoys an unfair advantage. In the upcoming years, Apple Pay's acceptance and market share are anticipated to increase.

Over the past year, Apple has been working diligently to improve the capabilities of its payment service, and as a result, Apple Pay—which is now accessible on the company's newest iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus—has become an essential component of its operations.

This includes the most recent introduction of Apple Pay Later, which enables customers to divide the price of a transaction made with their smartphone into four equal payments over the course of six weeks without being charged interest or late fees.

The feature provides users with a crystal-clear view of exactly what payment amounts are required and on what date whenever they check out using Apple Pay or Wallet. Apple claims the tool was "built with consumers' financial health in mind" and gives users the opportunity to pay early to settle a balance if they so want.

The company's Tap to Pay on iPhone service, which enables small companies to accept payment via iPhone, has also made it simpler to pay at stores using your Apple smartphone.

Additionally, Apple recently disclosed a deal with Square to integrate the service into the latter's POS terminals, thereby extending the program's reach to start-ups all over the world.

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