Apple Pay faces consumer indifference in inaugural year

Portland

APPLE Inc chief executive officer Tim Cook has called 2015 the "year of Apple Pay". So far it's been underwhelming.

The mobile-payments system, which marks its one-year anniversary this month, has failed to catch on with consumers, accounting for only one per cent of all retail transactions in the US, according to researcher Aite Group. The service - which allows users to pay for purchases by tapping their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch on a device at cash registers - has suffered from a lack of promotion and limited number of terminals available in stores. Plus Apple Pay is only available on newer iPhones.

"People don't know why it is they'd use Apple Pay," said Jared Schrieber, CEO of InfoScout, a shopper-research firm. "The…