A But some analysts believe that s a small number compared with the nine million US merchants that currently accept credit cards. In short Apple has a long way to go to knock off the established credit card system Shih says. Ecosystems are very delicately balanced and the current payment system represents a balance that has resulted from years of evolution. There s a lot of inertia around that Shih says.
You can have great technology but you really have to line up the complementary assets so all the pieces play with you and they are motivated to make it work. At the end of the day Apple is going to have to make the economics work for everybody. That is a hard job. Do Customers Care Which brings us to the customer side of the chicken and egg conundrum. Millions of shoppers have used cards for years Chinese Overseas America Number Data with little hassle. Edelman points out that people will continue to carry cards even if digital payments gain some traction so the barrier to overcome for mass acceptance is even higher. Edelman has studied Bitcoin a software based online payment system and he sees similarities between technology adoption roadblocks Bitcoin has encountered and issues.
Apple Pay is likely to face. Apple Pay has the same problems as Bitcoin to use it he says. Why would a consumer want to make a purchase with Bitcoin when the consumer can pay with a credit card and get percent cash back In addition to the limited number of merchants Apple Pay appears to be limited to users of the latest iPhone iPhone Plus and Apple Watch—which leaves out many consumers with older iPhones or Android models. Apple might be hamstrung by an incompatibility issue that the company intentionally introduced Edelman says. Shih agrees that selling technology is tricky in a market full of incompatible products.