Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple that makes it easy to pay for things in person, in apps, and online. You can use it on your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, or Vision Pro. Instead of using your real credit or debit card, Apple Pay uses a special digital version of your card. This keeps your information safe and works at any place that has contactless payment systems.

When you want to pay, you just tap your device on a payment terminal. Apple Pay adds extra safety by asking for verification through Touch ID, Face ID, Optic ID, a PIN, or a passcode. This makes sure it’s really you making the payment. The device talks to the payment system using a technology called near field communication, or NFC, and keeps your payment details secure.

Apple Pay can also be used for things like riding buses or trains on many public transport systems. Some of these systems let you pay without extra verification, while others still need the usual check to make sure it’s you.

Service

Device compatibility

This service works with iPhone 6 and newer models, iPad Air 2 and newer, Macs with Touch ID, and Apple Watch Series 1 and later. Starting with iOS 17 or later, the number of cards you can add depends on the device's secure element capacity.

Technology

Apple Pay uses special technology to keep payments safe. It replaces your real card number with a special code, so your information stays private. Each payment has its own unique security code, and Apple does not track your spending. You can quickly turn off Apple Pay on a lost device using the Find My iPhone service.

To pay in stores, you hold your authenticated Apple device near the payment terminal. On iPhone, you use Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode to approve the payment. Apple Watch users press a button on an unlocked device. In apps, you select Apple Pay and use Touch ID or Face ID to pay. You can add cards by linking an existing iTunes card, taking a photo, using your bank's app, or entering details manually.

Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method (CDCVM)

Apple Pay can verify payments using Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode. This means you might not need to sign a receipt or enter a PIN. In some places with spending limits for regular contactless cards, Apple Pay can allow higher amounts if the store's terminal is updated.

Global acceptance

Many stores accept contactless payments, but sometimes Apple Pay might not work when traveling due to different card setups in various countries.

Apple Cash

Apple Cash, previously Apple Pay Cash, lets you send money to friends through iMessage. The money goes to a special Apple Cash card that works at stores accepting Apple Pay. Before April 2022, it used Discover cards, but now it uses Visa. You can also move the money to a bank account. This service is for people aged 18 or older living in the United States or Puerto Rico and is run by Green Dot Corporation.

Cost

Apple Pay does not add extra charges for users or stores. In Switzerland, banks that work with Apple Pay pay a small amount for the service. For every card, they pay a fixed fee each quarter. They also pay a little more for each purchase made with a credit card or in apps and on websites. The rules in Switzerland set a maximum amount that banks can charge for these payments. Apple takes a share of the money that banks earn from these transactions.

History

Apple had been preparing for Apple Pay for a long time. They worked with big banks like Mastercard and Visa, creating a way to pay without sharing personal information.

Apple announced Apple Pay in September 2014. It started with US cards and later expanded to other countries like the UK and China. Over time, more places began accepting Apple Pay, and even some ATMs allowed people to take out cash using it.

Legal scrutiny

In 2022, Apple faced a legal challenge from a credit union that claimed Apple was not fair in allowing only Apple Pay and not other payment options. A judge allowed the case to continue in 2023.

In 2023, a U.S. government group started creating rules to oversee digital payment services like Apple Pay more closely, similar to how banks are watched. These rules were finished in 2024 and also apply to services from Google and Amazon. Later in 2024, U.S. government lawyers began a big legal case against Apple, saying Apple used unfair methods to help Apple Pay more than other payment services.

In 2020, European leaders announced they would look into Apple’s practices, especially regarding Apple Pay. They said Apple was not letting other payment services use the part of devices that allows contactless payments. Apple disagreed and said the COVID-19 pandemic led to more people using contactless payments.

Availability

Apple Pay can be used with any contactless payment terminal around the world as long as you have a supported card. It works in 97 different countries and areas.

Apple Pay supports many different types of payment cards, including:

• Visa (available everywhere, including special options in Japan)
• Mastercard (available everywhere, including special options in Japan)
• American Express (available everywhere except China, with special options in Japan)
• Discover Card (only in the United States)
• Interac (only in Canada)
• EFTPOS (only in Australia)
• China UnionPay (only in China, Hong Kong, and Macau)
• And many more options in various countries

Reception

Reviews

Writers in the United States talked about how many other companies tried to make mobile payment services before, like PayPal, Walmart, Google Wallet, and Softcard, but these didn't work very well. They thought Apple Pay might be better because Apple often makes things simpler and easier to use. Some people said Apple Pay was very easy to use, but they weren't sure if lots of people would start using it right away.

Adoption

When Apple Pay first came out, over one million people signed up to use it in just three days. At first, some big stores like Best Buy, Walmart, and Publix didn't accept Apple Pay because they had deals with another payment system. But later, most of these stores started accepting it. Apple Pay became very popular, and many places around the world began to use it, including Transport for London in the UK and Chick-fil-A restaurants in the United States.

Explanatory notes

There are no explanatory notes provided in this section.