I’ve clearly done far more research than you have

I feel like I've entered some Twilight Zone. You just keep repeating the same absurd claims about something but if you had ever researched it in any capacity you'd know how false those claims are.

No they don’t. The vast majority don’t even accept Apple, Google, or Samsung Pay, credit cards only.

"Apple Pay is accepted at over 85 percent of retailers in the U.S."

Look, it's really simple: If a store accepts contactless cards, it by definition accepts Apple Pay. They are the same thing to the merchant. There are zero merchants that take contactless cards but can't take Apple Pay.

As for costs, a random sampling:

Forbes:

One great benefit of using Apple Pay is that it doesn’t cost business owners anything extra. Payment processors consider it a normal credit card transaction, so you’ll only pay regular card processing fees. The only upfront cost involved might be upgrading your POS terminal.

US Chamber of Commerce:

Once you have the right contactless payment-capable POS, there are no additional fees you, the merchant, will have to pay for using Apple Pay. As a business owner, you will pay the same credit card rates and fees as you would for a card-present transaction.