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| Apple Pay and its introduction strategies |
Apple
PayApple launched yesterday Apple Pay in Singapore, its sixth market to
date, and prepares its next release, if everything goes according to
the announcements made to date, in Hong Kong and in Spain throughout
this year 2016.
The
deployment in the North American market of Apple Pay took place on
October 20, 2014, a little more than a month after its presentation. It
was carried out, as had been announced, with the participation of the
three main credit card issuers, American Express, MasterCard and Visa,
some 220.000 stores and numerous participating banks. After two years
and lack of official Apple data, which claims to maintain sustained and
double-digit growth, some surveys speak of relatively discrete
popularity rates in their use and others speak directly of a failure,
although other sources claim that such an adoption profile in a product
as a means of payment should not represent any concern to the company.
About 18% of Americans use their mobile devices to make at least one
weekly transaction, and about that number, 68% use Apple Pay.
After
the launch in the North American market, where the iphone had at the
end of last year with a market penetration of 39.1%, the company
launched the service in the UK, where the iphone had a penetration of
38.6% of the market smartphone. The launch in a new market of such a
service raises many specificities: for the UK, it is assumed that Apple
has had to accept lower commissions from banks due to the limit to
exchange rates, 0.3% for credit cards and 0.2% for debit, which imposes
the European Economic Area. In addition, transactions are limited to
thirty pounds (they were twenty at the time of launch,) it rose to
thirty three months later) except in the more modern terminals that
accept the standard consumer device Cardholder verification Method
(CDCVM), and some important banks, like Barclays, took time to say yes,
citing tensions in the negotiation of the commissions. Currently,
British users can use most of their American Express cards, MasterCard
and practice visa all of the most important banks, with a reasonable
popularity derived especially from the greater penetration of
contactless terminals in the stores with respect to the United States
and of the adoption of very common uses like the payment in the public
transport.
The following countries in the sequence were Canada and Australia, on 17 and 19 November 2015. Banking systems similar to Americans, cultural affinity ... and insights of 38.3% and 24.6% iphone were converted into habitual suspects. Here, however, the brand's strategy was to launch only with American Express, a strategy that is still held, several months later. In China, the next country on the list, it was different: for an obviously interesting and crucial country in Apple's strategy, but with a penetration of iphone minor, of 22.2%, the company launched last D18 of February by an agreement with the only partner with whom it could do it, union pay, the organization that groups all the banks and issuers of cards of the country , an association that has allowed it to be present in practically all of the industry, and potentially in the hands of any Chinese citizen with an iphone. necessary, logically, for a country that, in terms of banking innovation, has carried out a notable breakthrough that has led to Apple Pay meets very strong competitors and with great success in its implementation that come from Tencent (TenPay) and Alibaba (Alipay).
Finally,
Apple launched Apple Pay yesterday in Singapore. An interesting market,
with a high per capita income, with 38% of the smartphone market in the
hands of the iphone, and in which he again repeats the strategy of
launching with American Express, although in this case it is noticed on
the page that the support for credit and debit cards of visa and of
banks like DBS, UOB and Standard Chartered will arrive in the next
months.
Hong
Kong and Spain are, according to the company, the upcoming releases,
and in both cases it is intended to be only for American Express cards.
But in this case we talk about different markets: while in Hong Kong the
penetration of iphone reaches 28.6%, in Spain is reduced to 9.1%, which
makes the market a challenge. Many will say that 9.1% is not "any" 9.1%
and that very possibly has a very powerful socio-demographic variable
behind, but that is, a minority stake in a market widely dominated by
Android devices. Moreover, to make the most interesting thing, the
penetration of payment terminals prepared for mobile payments is one of
the highest in the world, which could hypothetically allow for a
reasonably fast adoption, which, for the moment, has not taken place
with any of the previous systems.
What
strategies will we see in this case? What movements will we see in the
Spanish banks, and to what extent are they proactive in alliances to
take the photo with the mark of the Apple? Will Santander move its
machinery after the experience they have had in the British market,
which will undoubtedly have served as a test given their important
presence? Will BBVA, usually very active in terms of adoption? Will that
decision affect the fact that several Spanish banks already have their
own mobile payment applications working for both iphone and Android? How
will Apple Pay be accepted in a country where the social phenomena of
adoption are, on many occasions, surprising and especially active?
Undoubtedly, the launch of Apple Pay in Spain we will derive interesting
conclusions on the strategies of the banks, their level of proactivity,
or the rates of adoption. Very soon, on your screens:-)
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