If Apple Inc. (AAPL) has any faults, it is that the company often pushes too many products and services to market at the same time. It’s fine once all the hype dies down, but upfront it muddies the waters a bit — the media and consumers are forced to look in a number of different directions at once.
Tuesday’s gala announcement was no different, with Tim Cook introducing two new iPhones, a smartwatch, and Apple Pay, the company’s new mobile wallet technology.
It is only natural for the iPhone 6 to garner a lot of attention, as consumers always look forward to Cupertino pushing its newest generation of smartphone to market. And who could overlook the smartwatch, a first for Apple.
But though Apple Pay may be an afterthought for some observers –especially consumers who want nothing more than to buy devices — don’t lose this gem in the mix. It is already proving its worth, thanks to partnerships set up between AAPL and the three major credit card companies.
What’s Next for Apple Pay?
Don’t focus on the here and now. Instead, focus on the future. Forrester Research expects mobile payments to reach $100 billion in the United States alone within the next five years. Now do you see why Apple made this move right now?
The challenge that lies ahead is simple: getting consumers to switch from using traditional methods of payment such as cash and credit cards to making transactions via a digital device, such as an iPhone or Apple Watch.
So next up for Apple is surely an aggressive education program for consumers about all its mobile payment system has to offer.
Because it’s one thing for Apple to sign up big-name merchants like Target (TGT) and McDonald’s (MCD) … it’s another thing entirely for consumers to use Apple Pay when they are ready to purchase toothpaste or a Big Mac.
In the end, though, I believe Apple Pay is a real gamechanger for AAPL — don’t lose sight of this one amid all the device hoopla.
At the time of publication, Bibey had no positions in the securities mentioned.
