How to use Apple Cash to send and receive money on your iPhone

For the most part, Apple Cash is managed entirely through Apple’s Wallet app on your iPhone. Money can be sent and received through Messages or the Wallet settings on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or even Apple’s new Vision Pro headset, but you’ll need your iPhone or iPad to set up and manage Apple Cash. The Mac is conspicuously left out of the party here.

Step 1: Apple recommends that your device use “the latest iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, or visionOS.” Since Apple Cash is a secure payment system, there could be changes that might cause problems with older versions, and you’ll also miss out on some of the newer Apple Cash features.

Technically, the minimum requirements for Apple Cash are iOS 11.2 or later on an iPhone or iPad or watchOS 4.2 or later on an Apple Watch. Apple Cash also requires a device that supports Apple Pay — an iPhone 6 or later, an iPad with Touch ID or Face ID, or an Apple Watch Series 1. All of these can be updated to at least iOS 12 and watchOS 6 and are the minimum versions you should be using with Apple Cash.

Step 2: Apple Cash is available only in the U.S. Just like when opening any bank account, you’ll need to verify your identity by scanning an image of your driver’s license or other government-issued ID and supplying a valid Social Security Number.

You must also be 18 years of age, and Apple says you must “live in the United States,” although expatriates shouldn’t have a problem setting it up as long as they have a valid U.S. address.

Once you’ve met all the requirements, here’s how to set up Apple Cash from your iPhone, iPad, or even your Vision Pro.

Step 1: Make sure you have your driver’s license or other government-issued ID handy, along with your Social Security Number (SSN), as you’ll need to scan your ID with your device’s camera and enter your SSN to verify your identity.

Step 2: Open the Settings app on your device.

Step 3: Scroll down and select Wallet & Apple Pay.

Step 4: Toggle the switch on beside Apple Cash.

Step 5: When prompted, authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, Optic ID.

Step 6: Select Continue and then follow the instructions. You’ll typically be asked to verify your identity by providing details such as your full name, SSN, date of birth, home address, and an image of your ID. You may also be asked some questions regarding your personal financial history — the sort of things that might appear on a credit report.

Whether this appears and how many details you’re asked for will depend on your financial profile with Apple. In some cases, the verification may be skipped entirely if Apple’s risk assessment algorithms are satisfied with other details such as your iTunes, App Store, and Apple Pay purchase history. However, you won’t be able to send or receive more than $500 without verifying your identity.

Once Apple Cash is set up, you’re ready to send money to any other Apple Cash user, whether that’s a gift for a close friend or family member or you’re splitting the lunch bill with a work colleague. Apple Cash payments are always sent via iMessage, and this is typically done using the Messages app on the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Vision Pro. However, they can also be initiated from the Apple Cash card in the Wallet app on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open the Messages app on your device and open or start a conversation with the person you’d like to send money to.

Step 2: Choose the Plus sign in the bottom-left corner.

Step 3: Scroll down on the menu that appears and select Apple Cash.

Step 4: Use the Plus and Minus signs to set an amount in even dollars, or choose Show Keypad to enter a specific amount, including cents.

Step 5: Select the Send button.

Step 6: The payment will appear as an attachment, similar to sending a photo in iMessage. You can also enter a message here, which will not only be sent to the recipient, but also be attached to the Apple Cash payment in your transaction history. This will be denoted by a black bubble rather than the usual blue one.

Step 7: When ready, tap the Black send arrow.

Step 8: An Apple Pay payment prompt will appear next to confirm the transaction. By default, the funds will be taken from your Apple Cash balance, unless that’s not sufficient, in which case your debit card will be used instead. Like any other Apple Pay transaction, you can tap the payment method to select an alternate one; however, only your Apple Cash balance and debit cards can be used here.

Step 9: Confirm the transaction by double-clicking the side button on a Face ID-equipped iPhone or iPad and confirming with Face ID. If you have an iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad, or an iPhone SE or older iPhone with a home button, lightly place your finger on the Touch ID sensor to confirm. If you’re using a Vision Pro, double-click the top button and look at the Optic ID icon to confirm.

The process for requesting money with Apple Cash is very similar to sending money. You can initiate a request from the Messages app or the iPhone Wallet app, and it’s mostly a matter of pressing a different button.

Step 1: Go to the Messages app and open or start a conversation with the person you’d like to request money from.

Step 2: Choose the Plus sign in the bottom-left corner.

Step 3: Scroll down on the menu that appears and select Apple Cash.

Step 4: Set the amount you’d like to request, either by using the Plus and Minus signs or choosing Show Keypad to enter a specific amount.

Step 5: Select the Request button.

Step 6: The request will appear as an attachment, giving you an opportunity to add a comment before you send it. As with sending money via Apple Cash, anything you enter here will also be attached to the request in your transaction history, and show as a black bubble in the conversation.

The recipient can tap the request once they received it, which will take them through the process of sending an Apple Cash payment from their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Vision Pro.

You can top up your Apple Cash balance at any time using your debit card if you’ve added one to your account. There’s no charge for this from Apple’s side, but it’s treated as a normal debit card transaction, so you’ll still need to pay whatever fees your bank might charge for these.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2: Select your Apple Cash payment card.

Step 3: Select Add Money

Step 4: Enter the amount you would like to transfer and select Add in the top-right corner.

Step 5: Confirm the payment by double-clicking the side button and using Face ID, holding your finger gently on the Touch ID sensor, or double-pressing the top button and using Optic ID on the Vision Pro — depending on the device you’re using.

You can also add funds by choosing your Apple Cash card from the Wallet app on your iPhone, selecting the Three-dot menu in the top-right corner, and choosing Add Money. However, this method only works from the iPhone, as there’s no standalone Wallet app on the iPad.

In addition to adding funds to your Apple Cash account manually, you can also set up an auto reload so there’s always a bit of spending money available on your Apple Cash card. This will automatically add money from your bank account when your Apple Cash account falls below a minimum balance.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2: Select your Apple Cash payment card.

Step 3: Choose Set Up Auto Reload.

Step 4: Choose Amount and select the amount you would like to automatically reload from your bank account (from $25 to $200).

Step 5: Choose Minimum Balance and select the threshold below which you’d like the reload to occur: $10, $15, or $25.

Step 6: Select Set Up in the top-right corner.

Step 7: Confirm by double-clicking the side button and using Face ID or holding your finger gently on the Touch ID sensor, depending on the device you’re using.

Money can also be transferred from Apple Cash to your bank account using standard automated clearinghouse (ACH) transfers or via an eligible debit card. An ACH transfer will typically take 1 to 3 business days while a debit card transfer is usually immediate. There’s no charge for ACH transfers, however you’ll need to pay a fee of 1.5% of the money you’re transferring if you want to use your debit card to get the funds into your bank account right away, with a minimum fee of 25 cents and a maximum of $15.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2: If you want to use ACH transfers, make sure you’ve added a bank account by selecting Bank Account and following the instructions to enter your banking information, such as a routing number and account number. Debit card transfers will use any eligible card that’s already available in your Apple Wallet.

Step 3: Select Transfer to Bank.

Step 4: Enter the amount you would like to transfer and select Next in the top-right corner.

Step 5: Choose the bank account and method you would like to use for the transfer and select Next in the top-right corner.

Step 6: Confirm the transfer by double-clicking the side button and using Face ID or holding your finger gently on the Touch ID sensor, depending on the device you’re using.

You can also transfer funds directly from the Wallet app by selecting the Apple Cash card, choosing the Three-dot menu in the top-right corner, and selecting Transfer to Bank. However, this only works from the iPhone, as there’s no standalone Wallet app on the iPad.

One of the great things about Apple Cash is that it also works as a virtual debit card on the Visa Debit network. However, until recently, it’s only been possible to use it with Apple Pay, which means it’s limited to those merchants and websites that accept it as a transaction method. The Apple Cash card has a Visa Debit card number that’s used for these transactions under the hood, but there’s no way to find out what it is — which means there’s no way to punch it in to purchase something on a website, nor is there a valid expiration date or verification code to go with it.