
As Dennis heads out of the office for lunch, he suddenly realizes he has forgotten his wallet at home. Rather than driving 40 minutes home to get it, he heads to the local deli and uses Apple Pay® on his iPhone® to buy lunch. Luckily Dennis had set up his debit and credit cards in the Apple Wallet® app on his iPhone®, allowing him to use Apple Pay® at participating retailers.
More and more people are converting to contactless payments, which turn our mobile devices — smart phones, tablets or Apple Watches® — into digital wallets. It’s easy and speeds up check out time at retailers.
Easy to Set Up
Here’s how to set up Apple Pay® on your iPhone®:
- Make sure you have an iPhone 6 or later and verify that your financial institution supports Apple Pay®
- Go to the Wallet app on your iPhone®
- Click on the Add (+) symbol to add your debit or credit card.
- Click Continue and follow the on-screen prompts. You can take a photo of your card or add your information manually.
- Agree to the Terms & Conditions
- You may need to authenticate or verify your card with your financial institution.(If verification is required, Apple Pay® makes this as painless as possible by including the phone number of your financial institution right on your phone screen. Just tap, call, and verification is instant.)
- A passcode, Touch ID® or Face ID® is required to use Apple Pay®.
Easy to Use
To use your card in a store, you’ll only need to open the Wallet app to your default card, or select another card you want to use, and then hold your phone next to the sales terminal with your finger on the home button. Everything else happens automatically.
If you have an iPhone X®, double click on the side button to open the Wallet ® app to your default card (or select another card you want to use), glance at the phone and then hold the phone over the sales terminal.
In case you’re wondering, the purchase will show up as a payment on your statement.
Security?
What if Dennis had his wallet but his iPhone was lost or stolen? Could someone have used his Apple Pay® to make purchases? The short answer is no. Apple Pay® does not store your credit or debit card numbers on your phone. In fact, the numbers are not even shared with merchants. Instead, a randomized code is used for your transaction. This makes the electronic payment much safer than pulling out the actual card. The digital data feature, plus the passcode, Touch ID® or Face ID®, makes your transactions with Apple Pay® as secure as transactions can be, which is especially important in an age of identity theft and credit card fraud.