Two in three Apple Pay users have encountered a problem when attempting to pay with the mobile payment service in a store, a survey from Phoenix Marketing International reveals. Most issues related to terminals not working or taking too long to make the transaction, inaccurate posting of transactions, or the inability of cashiers to help buyers needing assistance when using Apple Pay.

47% of the 3,002 US credit cardholders surveyed also revealed that, while visiting an Apple Pay listed merchant, they were told that the specific store they visited did not accept or was not ready to accept the mobile payment service at checkout.

“The demand is there,” says Greg Weed, director of card research at Phoenix. “59% of Apple Pay users have gone into a store and asked to make a purchase with Apple Pay. However, the early-on transaction potential is being undercut by low repeat usage and lost payment opportunities.

“Since Apple Pay is still in an introductory mode and the NFC acceptance network still has a long way to go, adding a continuously updated ‘local store directory’ to the Passbook app is a necessary, short-term product improvement. Posting a list of participating retailers on a website is not cutting it,” says Weed. “In the last four months, 48% of users have paid with Apple Pay just one time and that’s not going to cut it either.”

Some 66% of iPhone 6 owners and 11% of all credit card-owning households adopted Apple Pay during its first four months. 82% of adopters linked a credit card to Apple Pay, 53% linked a debit card and 20% linked a prepaid card, with 88% going on to use Apple Pay to make an in-store purchase.

The research estimates the Apple Pay user base to be around eight million households and some 12 million individuals at present.

“Even though Apple Pay users generally give the scheme high marks and 23% expect to significantly increase use over the next three months, problems at check-out are downgrading transaction potential,” adds Phoenix’s Leon Majors.

The Apple Pay: The First Four Months survey is part of an ongoing study that will see a total of 16,000 consumer surveys completed in 2015 to “monitor Apple Pay and new or revamped mobile wallets scheduled to enter the market this year.”