Apple Pay is exceptionally easy to use. Why aren’t more people using it?

Recently, I was in Canada and pretty much every single transaction was completed with Apple Pay.

I love using Apple Pay instead of having to pull my card out and insert it. So I take advantage of it every chance I get. I was excited when Target added Apple Pay earlier this year.

But since I’ve been back, I’ve noticed just how rare it is for people to pay with Apple Pay in the United States — especially with an Apple Watch. I had a cashier at a Walgreens comment that she’s never seen anyone pay with their watch. A lady behind me at Target the other day told me that she didn’t even know you could pay with a watch. And today, a “helpful” cashier at Staples warned me that paying with an Apple Watch “was the easiest way for people to steal your identity.” (I explained to him that he was completely wrong.)

Apple Pay (and its peers) are more secure, more convenient and faster. Considering that so many people have iPhones and Android phones, why aren’t more Americans taking the leap to contactless payments? And why are some vendors slow to install the hardware that makes contactless payments as common in the U.S. as they are in other countries?

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. Follow Bob on Instagram.