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Apple Pay users struggling to pay at checkout, study suggests

Apple’s fledgling mobile payment system might be letting down customers at the checkout, a new survey suggests.

The study, which was conducted by Phoenix Marketing International, reveals that many users faced difficulty when trying to use Apple Pay.

Around 3,000 iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus-owning respondents took part in the survey, of which 66 per cent had already signed up to Apple Pay.

The survey revealed that half of users had visited a store listed as an Apple Pay merchant only to find that the outlet didn’t actually accept the platform as a payment method.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Greg Weed, Phoenix’s director of card research, said: “They’ve created demand, but it can’t be fulfilled.”

“To make it more difficult to use or to create any uncertainty in your customer base as to whether it’s going to work is just going to slow it down.”

Related: What is Apple Pay?

The study also showed that 48 per cent of respondents found Apple Pay transactions took too long to process, while 42 per cent said the cashiers weren’t familiar with the technology.

A selection of shoppers also claimed they had suffered incorrect transactions, or had been double charged for a single purchase using Apple Pay.

Apple first announced Apple Pay in October last year, outing the platform alongside the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets.

Those devices are currently the only way to access Apple Pay, although this month’s Apple Watch launch will see the wearable become the third device to offer the payment method.

Currently exclusive to stateside iPhone owners, there is currently no word on when Apple Pay will cross the pond.

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