Only 6 Percent Of iPhone 6 Users Have Used Apple Pay

After Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the company implemented a new feature known as Apple Pay — a wallet-less, touch-less way to pay for products in stores or through apps. It’s an interesting app that utilizes Touch ID, and aims to speed up the checkout process. And following the launch of the Apple Watch, it’s sure to become even faster and easier.

Unfortunately, that large, healthy amount of iPhone 6 owners doesn’t inherently mean a lot of people are using Apple Pay. According to a new report from InfoScout and PYMNTS (via Venture Beat), only six percent of users have used the new feature since its introduction. The two groups appropriately stated that adoption of the mobile payment system has been moving “very slowly.”

A staggering 85 percent of iPhone 6 owners have never given Apple Pay their time or attention, while a low nine percent admitted they did try it out, but never used it beyond that, due to either forgetting how it works or being unsure of which stores support it. As BGR notes, however, the feature is still relatively new, and the fact that it isn’t widely accepted shouldn’t be a total surprise.

Karen Webster, chief executive of PYMNTS, echoed the same problem about Apple Pay currently being tied to the newest iPhone, saying,

“Not only do you have to have consumers with Apple Pay, you have to have consumers with iPhone 6. So, you have to have a consumer with the right hardware and the merchant with the right hardware in order for it to work.”

The Apple Watch, as previously stated, will probably add a few more users to the payment system’s slowly-increasing popularity, as it’ll work as a sort of middleman for earlier iPhone models like the 5 and 5s. Before that happens, though, Apple will have to settle for spreading the word and letting people know which places are equipped for this new type of payment — currently, 58 retailers are among the list of Apple Pay-friendly locations — including Office Max, Macy’s and McDonald’s — with several more set to come in the future, as well as a large variety of apps.

It’s really only a matter of time before mobile payment becomes the preferred method. It’s just a matter of making it available to as many people as possible.

[Image via Apple]