Apple Pay's two-pronged growth strategy includes European expansion and a ticketing launch

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Apple Pay continues to expand its international presence, feature set, and roster of cards it supports — and two new reports further cement the mobile wallet's growth strategy both domestically and across markets, per Verdict and NFC World+.

Here's what it means: Apple Pay is bolstering its international expansion and launching support for ticketing in the US.

Apple Pay is on a European growth kick, reportedly set to launch in 16 markets.The wallet will expand predominantly in Eastern European markets, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, and Romania, according to Macrumors. This expansion would give Apple Pay — which already supports 37 markets, with 24 in Europe — nearly full coverage of the European continent.

And it will enable NFC-based ticketing in partnership with Ticketmaster “later this year.”Apple Wallet has long supported Ticketmaster tickets, but as part of Ticketmaster's new SafeTix program, select stadiums will begin supporting NFC, allowing customers' tickets to automatically register when phones are held near the reader.

The bigger picture: Apple Pay's taking a two-pronged strategy for growth in which it focuses on wide-based international expansion, while also deepening use cases to encourage habit formation in the US, where adoption is lagging.

Adding new markets is the best way for the service to attract new users. Apple Pay's user base is surging, with 43% of the 900 million global iPhone users enabling Apple Pay at the end of 2018. These gains were likely fueled by entry into new international markets, which allows for rapid scale: 88% of Apple Pay's overall use base comes from outside the US. Pushing into more markets, particularly in Europe, where there's high appetite for contactless payments, should help the wallet continue its growth clip into 2019.

Meanwhile, offering services like ticketing could help improve engagement in slower-growth areas. The US comprises 21% of active iPhones, but represents just 12% of Apple Pay users. And growth is relatively stagnant — the wallet gained only 8 million users in the market last year. But the wallet could be on the verge of a big bump in the US, as customer interest in mobile wallets ticks up and as Apple Card, which rewards customers for paying with their phone, is set to launch this summer. Expanding use cases into things like transit — a proven driver for mobile wallet adoption — and ticketing with major partners could help normalize tap functionality, drive customers to the wallet, and promote habit formation surrounding Apple Pay.

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