Tech giant Apple has sought to expand its payment services, adding an Apple Pay buy now, pay later feature and extending tap-to-pay feature to more countries. The moves are paying off now.

The Cupertino, California-based company said its overall services category — which includes payments — also logged a record, generating $24.21 billion in revenue for the quarter. That figure represents a 14% increase over the same period in 2023.

Revenue from its payment services reached an all-time quarterly high for its fiscal third quarter ended June 29, Apple CEO Tim Cook said during an earnings call Thursday.

However, an Apple spokesperson said the company does not disclose revenue from individual services like Apple Pay.

Apple expanded its tap-to-pay option on its trademark iPhone to Japan, Canada, Italy and Germany, Cook told investors in Thursday's earnings call.

With more businesses able to accept contactless payments from the iPhone, the tech company was able to make more money from its payment services in the most recent quarter than it has in any previous quarter, Cook said.

Apple plans to continue to give users more payment options. The tech giant expects to introduce a slate of new services in the fall, the CEO said, including the capacity to pay for products with rewards points using Apple Pay.

"We are constantly focused on improving the breath and quality of our services," Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said on the earnings call.

Analysts expect revenue from Apple's services business to continue growing, thanks to new offerings and the upcoming release of the iPhone 16, which goes on sale in September.

"We see the rollout of Apple Intelligence (the company's generative AI product) as another tailwind for Apple Services growth," Bank of America analysts wrote in a note to investors.

The tech giant has previously said that it would use AI to enhance services like Apple Pay.

Apple posted $85.78 billion in revenue for the quarter, up nearly 5% from the same period in 2023, and reported a net income of $21.45 billion, up about 8% from the same three months in 2023.

By Patrick Cooley on Aug 5, 2024
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