Apple Pay’s Mobile Payments Expansion Efforts Carry On

Apple Pay’s rollout has not been what you’d call smooth. In fact, Apple Pay’s rollout has not been what you’d call finished, even; it’s still happening almost four years after its launch date. New reports suggest that the mobile payments platform is set to add new locations to its roster even four years after its launch, including 7-Eleven, longtime holdout CVS, and even Germany are all poised to get the service coming up.

The reports suggest that CVS will add Apple Pay this fall, following years of resistance. CVS was one of the original backers of the CurrentC program, as well as the developer of its own in-house system CVS Pay. CVS Pay did have some noteworthy features involved in its operation, specifically a built-in loyalty program, that a lot of systems are taking cues from even today.

Thus, the move to add Apple Pay to the lineup—reasons as to why weren’t really disclosed at last report—is a big step forward for Apple Pay. The addition to 7-Eleven is also being seen as a real step forward as well, pulling in a new market. The German addition—set for “later this year”—is a further coup, and perhaps a bigger one yet. This is in addition to similar news that’s been showing up around the platform, particularly the addition of eBay as we saw recently.

With Apple Pay doing steadily more business, over a billion transactions in 2018’s third quarter alone, it’s clear that this platform is doing well for itself. Active in 24 markets worldwide and with almost 5,000 bank partners to its credit, “ubiquity” is well on the way here. Adding more places, more partners, more countries only gives Apple Pay more reach, and more potential opportunity to make a splash in the market. It needs users—which it has thanks to the Apple walled garden—and it also needs uses, which it’s adding rapidly thanks to all the new business we’ve seen over the last few years.

The more places Apple Pay will work, the more value it can ultimately offer its user base. That’s good news for Apple, and for its customers. Apple Pay was already a major force in the market, but it may be looking at the top slot soon here.