What is Apple Pay?
Apple Pay replaces your physical cards and cash with an easier, safer, more private, and more secure payment method. Use it online, in apps, and in stores.
How To Use Apple Pay In South Africa
1. Set up Apple Pay in the Wallet app
Before using Apple Pay as your contactless payment form, you need to set it up by adding your credit or debit cards to your iPhone. You can set up Apple Pay from your iPhone’s settings or simply by going to the Wallet app and adding your cards there.
2. Tap on the Add Card button and enter info
From the Wallet app, tap on the + (plus) sign at the top right of your screen to add a card. Then, choose the type of card you’re adding; if it’s a payment method, select Debit or Credit Card. The other options are for Transit Cards and Driver’s License or State ID and are limited to a few states within the US.
Next, you’ll be prompted to enter your card information and edit your settings, like choosing a default payment card. Apple will then make contact with the card issuer to verify your payment information is valid, and you’ll be ready to use Apple Pay once this step is completed. It typically takes no more than a few minutes to verify your information with your bank or card issuer.
3. When you’re checking out, double-click the right-side button
Double-clicking, or, rather, double-pressing, the button on the right side of your iPhone brings up your available cards to use in Apple Pay. Do this when it’s time to pay at the checkout counter, and you can then choose your preferred payment card when the Wallet comes up.
4. Enter your passcode or use Face ID to confirm payment
Once you’ve tapped on a card from your iPhone’s Wallet, you’ll be prompted to enter your passcode or use Face ID to authorize and pay for your purchase using Apple Pay.
5. Hold your iPhone near the payment terminal
Entering your passcode authenticates your payment, so all you need to do next is hold your phone within about an inch of the card reader to process the transaction.
The payment with Apple Pay will only work if the payment terminal accepts contactless payments via NFC.
How to use Apple Pay on Apple Watch?
The days of “I forgot my wallet” are long gone. Once you add a card to your Apple Wallet, you enable Apple Pay on your iPhone. But if you have an active Apple Watch linked to that iPhone, you can also use Apple Pay with just your watch, even if you don’t have your iPhone on you when you check out.
In order to use Apple Pay for contactless payments with your Apple Watch, you need to set up the Apple Wallet in your watch by adding your credit or debit cards to it separately. Just adding them to your iPhone won’t enable them on other Apple devices. To add your payment card to your Apple Watch, follow these steps:
- Go to the Wallet app within the Apple Watch.
- Tap on Add Card.
- Choose Previous Cards to add any payment cards previously linked to your iPhone and you’ll be prompted to enter the security code for each, or
- Tap on Debit or Credit Card to add a new one, or
- Select Transit Card to add an eligible transportation payment card.
Is Apple Pay secure?
Using Apple Pay or Google Pay at checkout is more secure than swiping or inserting your card. Apple Pay works by ensuring your credit or debit card number and information is encrypted and never shared with the merchant when you check out. A new code is created each time you pay somewhere that accepts Apple Pay, making your financial data safer from being cloned or stolen.