How does Apple Pay's global market share compare to other major payment services like PayPal and Visa?

Globally, Apple Pay holds 7.37% of the market, placing it fifth. PayPal is number one with 20.53%, followed by Visa at 15.67% and MasterCard at 10.49%.

Finance

Apple Pay has many mountains to climb before it can become the world’s top payment option

By Sarah Chen

2 min readUpdated Jun 1, 2025Aug 25, 20237:35 AM

In this article (5)

A few days ago we showed you some video ads that Apple has put together for a promo campaign it is running for Apple Pay, its mobile payment service. Apple does keep .15% of the value of a transaction that has been paid for with Apple Pay. That means if you use your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for a $100 purchase, Apple collects the princely sum of 15 cents. But don’t worry about Apple; because Apple Pay is so often employed, one analyst says the company will take in $4 billion from the feature this year.

And Apple feels that there is so much potential upside to Apple Pay that it is worth it to spend the money promoting the service. Hence, the new promotion campaign for the feature. According to data from the U.K.’s Merchant Machine, Apple Pay is only the fifth most-used payment method in North America based on the number of transactions. Visa is number one on the continent with a market share of 15.08% followed by MasterCard (10.98%), PayPal (10.70%), American Express (9.97%), and Apple Pay (9.22%).

Globally, PayPal is number one with a market share of 20.53% with Visa and MasterCard second and third with market shares of 15.67% and 10.49% respectively. American Express is fourth (8.77% market share) with Apple Pay rounding out the top five (7.37%). Other tech-related firms that appear in the global rankings include Amazon Payments (6th place, 6.04% share), and Google Pay (8th place, 4.30% share).

The best showing for Apple Pay is in Africa where Apple’s mobile payment service is third with a 9.49% market share. PayPal (25.06%) is on top on the continent with Visa next (17.14%). Interestingly, in Africa, both Apple Pay and Amazon Payments (9.23%) are ahead of Master Card’s 8.42% share. And in Asia, Apple Pay is fourth with 7.65% of transactions on that continent.

So Apple is hoping to pump up usage of Apple Pay by using its new tagline, “Pay the Apple way.”It also is promoting the service on the social media platform that used to be called X and on other online sites as well. Mobile payment services are a convenience since you can whip out your phone or flick your wrist (assuming you’re wearing a smartwatch) to make a payment instead of struggling to take a credit card out of your wallet.

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What this means

Apple's renewed push for Apple Pay, evidenced by its new promotional campaign, is a calculated move to solidify its position in the competitive digital payments landscape. While its current 7.65% transaction share in Asia positions it fourth, this initiative directly pressures rivals like PayPal and Google Pay, whose 4.30% global share is still behind Apple's. The strategy to heavily promote the service online and via social media aligns with Apple's prior regional investments, similar to Panpuri's 16-store Asian expansion or Tiffany & Co.'s new Singapore cafe, signalling a concentrated effort to capture market share. However, Apple Pay’s relatively modest transaction fee of 0.15% per transaction means success hinges on massive adoption, making further market share data in Asia the critical metric to watch next.

Sarah Chen · Retail News Asia newsroom

Questions & Answers

Which payment method leads in North America, and how does Apple Pay compare there?

Visa holds the top spot in North America with 15.08% market share. Apple Pay is the fifth most-used payment method on the continent, accounting for 9.22% of transactions.

What is Apple's financial gain from Apple Pay transactions, and what is its projected revenue from the service this year?

Apple collects 0.15% of the value of each transaction made using Apple Pay. An analyst estimates the company will generate $4 billion from this feature during the current year.

Which region shows the strongest performance for Apple Pay, and what is its market position there?

Apple Pay demonstrates its strongest performance in Africa, where it ranks as the third most-used payment method. Its market share on the continent is 9.49% of transactions.

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