Apple Pay Cash

Set to launch in the UK soon, Jason Cross explains how to make person-to-person payments on an iPhone or Apple Watch

Apple Pay Cash has now launched in the US and looks set to launch in the UK soon, lets you pay your mates over iMessage, or by using Siri. Here’s everything you need to know.

Requirements

For starters, both the money sender and receiver need to be running iOS 11.2 or later. Apple Pay Cash was added in iOS 11.2 beta 2, and is in the final release as well. According to Apple’s support page, you’ll need to meet the following requirements:

• A compatible device with iOS 11.2 or later.

• Two-factor authentication for your Apple ID.

• An eligible credit or debit card in Wallet, so you can send money.

• Be at least 18 years old.

Setting up Apple Pay Cash

Before you can send or receive money, you’ll need to set up the Apple Pay Cash card. It’s essentially a special prepaid card with some financial services provided top Apple by Green Dot Bank.

First, you may need to head into the Settings menu and make sure Apple Pay Cash is enabled. Go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay and look for the Apple Pay Cash toggle at the top of the screen. Then, head into the Wallet app, tap on the Apple Pay Cash card, then tap on Set Up Apple Pay Cash. You’ll have to agree to some terms and conditions, but that’s it. This process will set off automatically if someone sends you money before you get a chance to set it up.

How to send money with your iPhone or iPad

Sending money with Apple Pay Cash is incredibly simple. It’s just an iMessage app.

Launch Messages and then start a new message, or open an existing one. Tap the Apps button and then the Apple Pay button. Press the ‘+’ or ‘-’ buttons to adjust the amount, or tap Show Keypad to enter an exact amount. Tap Pay. If you want to add a message here, you can. Tap the send button. You’ll get a summary screen that you’ll need to approve with either Touch ID or Face ID.

That’s all there is to it. The money will be sent immediately, and will be available on the recipient’s Apple Pay Cash card.

Send money with your Apple Watch

Open Messages on your Apple Watch and either start a new message or open an existing one. Scroll down past the message and tap on the Apple Pay button. Turn the digital grown to adjust the dollar amount. If you need to be more exact, tap the dollar amount to show the decimal places, then tap the value after the decimal and rotate the digital crown to adjust. Tap Pay. You’ll be prompted to double-click the side button to confirm.

Ask for money

You can ask your friend to send you money, too. When they get the request, they can tap it, and the payment amount will be filled out automatically (they can adjust it if they want).

Open Messages, go to a conversation, and tap the Apple Pay iMessage app like you would when sending money. Enter the amount, and instead of tapping Pay tap the Request button. There’s no Request button on Apple Watch, but you can use Siri with a phrase like, “Ask Jason for £15 for pizza.”

Cancel payment

If you sent money to someone and they haven’t yet accepted it, you can cancel payment. Go to Messages and tap on the payment, or find the payment in the

Transaction History of your Apple Pay Cash card in the Wallet app or Settings. Tap the transaction and look for the status field. Tap Cancel Payment. If you don’t see that option, they’ve already accepted the payment.

It may take up to a day for the payment to show up back on your account. After the first transaction, most users will have Apple Pay Cash set to automatically accept payments (that’s the default), so you probably won’t have much opportunity to cancel.

Using Siri

You can use Siri to both send and request money. Try saying “Send Jane £14 for pizza” or “Apple Pay Greg £12 for pizza.” Or to request money, maybe, “Ask Glenda for £18 for pizza.”

About that Apple Pay Cash card

When you receive money, it goes onto your Apple Pay Cash card. That money is then used by default whenever you send anyone else money with Apple Pay Cash. If you don’t have enough in there, you can pay the balance with a debit or credit card.

You can also use money on your Apple Pay Cash card to pay for things using Apple Pay. Apps and inapp purchases, retail, online, it’s just another source of money to use within Apple Pay. Just tap on your payment card whenever an Apple Pay summary pops up on screen for you to confirm, or if you’re buying something at retail, switch to the Apple Pay Cash card before tapping to the terminal.

The maximum balance you can have on the card is $20,000. You can only send or receive up to $3,000 per

message, and $10,000 within a seven-day period. The UK limit has yet to be announced.

Adding money to your Apple Pay Cash card or transferring it to your bank account

You can add money to your Apple Pay Cash card, although you will automatically add any missing balance from a debit or credit card when paying someone. Just open the Apple Pay Cash card in the Wallet app or the Wallet & Apple Pay settings menu. Then tap on the Info tab. Then tap Add Money. Enter the amount you’d like to add, tap Add, and confirm.

Taking money off your Apple Pay Cash card is just a little more complicated. You’ll need to add a bank account. In the Apple Pay Cash card info (in Settings or the Wallet app), go to the Info tab. Tap Transfer to Bank. The first time you do this, you’ll have to tap Add Bank Account and enter your bank’s sort code and your account number. Enter an amount, tap Transfer, then confirm with Touch ID or Face ID.

If you want to transfer money from your Apple Pay Cash virtual card to your bank, you’ll need to enter an account number.

Cost of using Apple Pay Cash

If you use a debit card, Apple Pay Cash is free. But if you use a credit card, there’s a 3 percent credit card transaction fee every time you use your card to add to your Apple Pay Cash balance.