Apple Pay Adds Access to 21 Million Customers
As the year races to a close, Apple continues to sign banks onto its Apple Pay mobile payment platform at a rapid pace.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant added within the last couple of weeks financial institutions that cumulatively have more than 21 million customers and assets of nearly $450 billion.
Here are the FIs Apple added to its Apple Pay service within the last couple of weeks:
| Assets ($b) | # of Accounts | |
| BB&T | 182.9 | 7,740,000 |
| Black Hills Federal Credit Union | 1 | 59,000 |
| Dupaco Community Credit Union | 1.1 | 72,000 |
| First Tennessee Bank | 23.8 | 762,000 |
| Fremont Bank | 2.7 | 54,000 |
| Idaho Central Credit Union | 1 | 175,000 |
| L&N Federal Credit Union | 0.7 | 70,000 |
| National Institutes of Health FCU | 0.5 | 43,000 |
| TD Bank NA | 224.9 | 12,309,000 |
| UW Credit Union | 1 | 150,000 |
| WesBanco Bank | 6.3 | 320,000 |
| Total | $445.9 | 21,754,000 |
These numbers are estimates based on data from the FDIC and NCUA.
It’s interesting that major banks such as BB&T and TD, as well as tiny banks and credit unions, continue to sign onto Apple Pay.
Some industry players are critical of banks signing up with Apple Pay, though many banks, small and large alike, likely feel they have little choice. Miguel Santos, founder and CEO of Technisys, an omnichannel solutions startup with $14 million in funding, recently tweeted:
Probably the worst mistake of the banking industry ever: Apple Pay on 25 Posts of the Year @BankInnovationhttp://t.co/wKaNKrCf4D
— Miguel Santos (@miguelsantosw) December 22, 2014
This, of course, refers to the deep discount the banks were said to have given Apple, as reported by Bank Innovation back in September, compared by some as letting the fox into the henhouse, or similar ominous cliches.
Just 30 banks — but most of the biggest ones — are now listed as participating issuers. Look for a much larger number at the end of 2015.
