Pulse is an interbank electronic funds transfer (EFT) network in the United States. It serves more than 4,400 U.S. financial institutions and includes more than 380,000 ATMs, as well as POS terminals nationwide. The company has just published a 2021 debit issuer study white paper. The new study claims that Apple Pay dominated the mobile wallet space for debit transactions in 2020 with Apple’s payments service accounting for 92% of all mobile wallet debit transactions in the U.S. last year.

According to the study, the COVID-19 pandemic had far-reaching effects, not just on public health but on economies and lives around the world. Debit payments in the U.S. did not escape the pandemic’s impact in 2020. The 2021 Debit Issuer Study details those impacts, and more.

Overall, mobile wallet payments using debit cards totaled 2.0 billion transactions in 2020, reflecting 51% YOY growth across the three most prominent mobile wallets. Across every metric – enrollment, active rate and usage – Apple Pay outgrew Samsung Pay and Google Pay (Figure 10)

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Looking ahead, issuers generally have a positive outlook on mobile wallets. Merchant acceptance of contactless is increasing, with 74 of the top 100 U.S. merchants now accepting Apple Pay and 65% of all retail locations across the U.S. now supporting it. In addition to in-store avenues, in-app purchases using mobile wallets are growing rapidly, with 57% of mobile wallet transactions now being made in-app. Similarly, cardholder enrollment for wallets is increasing, as is their familiarity with contactless payments. 

Mobile wallet transactions are rising. Two billion mobile wallet debit transactions were performed in 2020 using the three major mobile wallets, up 51% YOY. Apple Pay outperformed Samsung Pay and Google Pay in cardholder enrollment, active rate and usage, capturing a 92% share. Most mobile wallet transactions (57%) are made in-app, with the rest being in-store.

For more on this study, review the full PULSE study below.

   2021 Debit Issuer Study White Paper by Jack Purcher on Scribd