Fintech analyst Juniper Research claims that Apple Pay customers will reach about 86 million this year, nearly doubling from a figure of 45 million in 2016.
The company estimated that the total of OEM-Pay contactless users would reach 100 million in the first half of 2017. This includes users of Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay.
This figure would then climb to more than 150 million by the end of the year.
In a research study entitled Contactless Payments: NFC Handsets, Wearables & Payment Cards 2017-2021, Juniper said that the combined market share of these three payment systems had reached 41% of the total OEM-Pay contactless users in 2016, from 15% in 2015.
{loadposition sam08}And this percentage of market share would rise to 56% by 2012, the company said.
Figures are in millions. Graphic courtesy Juniper Research.
The study found that Apple Pay and alternative wallets were set to be established as the primary contactless mechanisms of choice in the US.
"However, the challenge facing Apple and its rivals is to ensure that the infrastructure is in place for consumers to make in-store payments," a statement said.
“We believe that as contactless usage gains traction and consumers/merchants recognise the speed and convenience it offers, then, as in European markets, there will be a further and significant increase in availability at the point-of-sale," said research author Nitin Bhas.
According to Apple, the proportion of US retailers supporting Apple Pay rose from 4% in 2014 to 35% in late 2016.
The Juniper study found that 2015 and 2016 were watershed years for host card emulation in terms of commercial service rollouts.
The company estimated that 194 banks had introduced such services by the end of 2016, adding that it expected PayPal to deploy contactless payment and loyalty solutions to to compete for market share.