Apple Pay Registered One Million Credit Cards in First 72 Hours

As they do with the iPhone and iPad, Apple users are flocking to Apple’s other new product from the past month: Apple Pay.

Apple Pay users activated more than one million credit cards in the first 72 hours after the service was launched, according to CEO Tim Cook, marking a substantial first step for Apple’s foray into the payments business.

Apple Pay works when users upload their credit card information to their phone, enabling them to check out at retailers without the need for carrying physical credit cards or cash. Apple Pay is significant to the company in that it provides a new business vertical for Apple — and if successful, will add another differentiator between the iPhone and its smartphone competitors.

“We’re just getting started but the early ramp looks fantastic,” Cook said at the Wall Street Journal Digital Conference Monday in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Despite early adoption, it hasn’t been all roses for Apple Pay in its first week. Over the weekend, national drug store chains CVS and Rite Aid halted support for Apple Pay. Both chains are members of the Merchant Customer Exchange, a joint retail venture set to launch its own mobile payment service some time next year that will compete directly with Apple Pay.

Why compete with Apple? Retailers hope that using their own payment system will cost them less, minimizing transaction fees.

For Apple, it’s the first step in a new business line, and speed bumps like evolving retail partnerships are bound to crop up. But early adoption of Apple Pay means that people are at least intrigued enough to experiment with mobile payments, an area that many have already operated in but no one has really nailed.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via