Transit is the catalyst for Apple Pay's 10 billion transaction goal

Apple is relying on transportation systems across the globe to drive Apple Pay's usage.

Apple Pay is expected to be a payment option for New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority by early summer, a move that will help the mobile payment system hit 10 billion transactions overall by the end of the year, CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday during Apple's 2019 second quarter conference call.

Portland, Chicago and Los Angeles are also on Apple's radar to include Apple Pay for ticket payments in the future. Subways and rails in London, Moscow, Tokyo and Shanghai already accept Apple Pay.

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

"We believe that using Apple Pay on transit systems will spur more adoption and get even more people using Apple Pay in the U.S.," Cook said.

Apple Pay is now available in 30 markets and "we are expecting to be live in 40 markets by the end of the year," Cook said.

Apple Pay set new March quarter revenue marks, Cook said, though he did not disclose specific numbers. Transactions for the second quarter doubled year-over-year, putting the company on track for the expected 10 billion by year's end, he added.

Ticketmaster has announced it would accept Apple Pay for ticket purchases on the Web and on the Ticketmaster app and more than 50 of their event venues and NFL stadiums are accepting contactless ticketing this year, Cook said.

Unlike PayPal, which provided its number of Venmo P2P users at 40 million for the first time last week, Apple followed its past practice and did not reveal the actual number of Apple Pay users.

Cook also did not elaborate on the Apple Card launch announced in late March, other than to indicate "customer interest to date has been terrific" for the payment method to be available this summer.

Apple has a partnership with Goldman Sachs as the Apple Card issuer, touting the virtual card for the Apple Wallet and accompanying metal card as a benefit for Apple Pay users because of its tiered cash-rewards program.

Cook said he could not speculate much about the Apple Card or other Apple services recently launched until they are in Apple users' hands. He made it clear, however, that he expects the payment card to resonate with Apple customers.

"We wouldn't provide a service if we didn't think it was meaningful," Cook said. "These are not hobbies for us."

Apple reported $58 billion in revenue for the second quarter, which ended March 31, helping it post a profit of nearly $11.6 billion. It marked a dip in revenue from last year's mark of $61.1 billion, but that was expected because of Apple's previous statements about slower than expected demand for new iPhones.

However, Cook mentioned that iPhone sales were up in the first months of 2019 and that the company intends to "pick up the pace" with iPhone sales through trade-in arrangements and price adjustments.

All iPhones come with Apple Pay loaded, and users interested in an Apple Card can obtain one in a matter of minutes through the phone's security methods and the information Apple already has about its customers.