To put money on Apple Pay, you actually add money to Apple Cash inside the Wallet app, using a linked debit or eligible prepaid card.

Apple Pay vs. Apple Cash

  • Apple Pay is the way your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac pays with cards stored in Wallet. You donā€™t ā€œloadā€ Apple Pay itself; you add cards to it.
  • Apple Cash is a stored balance in Wallet that you can top up and then use with Apple Pay or for personā€‘toā€‘person payments.

Step 1: Set up Apple Cash

  • Open the Wallet app on your iPhone and look for the Apple Cash card; if you do not see it, follow the onā€‘screen prompts to set it up (requires being in the U.S. with an eligible device).
  • During setup you may need to agree to terms and verify your identity, because Apple Cash is issued by Green Dot Bank and treated like a financial account.

Step 2: Add a debit/prepaid card to Wallet

  • In Wallet, tap the ā€œ+ā€ button in the top right, choose Credit or Debit Card , then tap Continue.
  • Scan your card or enter details manually, then complete any verification your bank requests (for example, SMS code or app confirmation).

Step 3: Add money to Apple Cash

  • Open Wallet and tap your Apple Cash card, then tap the More (ā€¦) or More button and choose Add Money.
  • Enter the amount (usually at least 10 USD), choose the funding card (must be a U.S. debit or eligible prepaid card), confirm with Face ID/Touch ID/passcode, and the money moves into your Apple Cash balance.

Using that money with Apple Pay

  • When you pay with Apple Pay in stores or apps, you can select Apple Cash as the payment source instead of a regular bank card if the merchant supports it.
  • If your Apple Cash balance is not enough, Apple Pay can instead charge one of your other cards in Wallet, so you do not always need to preload Apple Cash to use Apple Pay.

Quick notes and limits

  • You cannot add money to Apple Cash with a credit card; it must be a U.S. debit or eligible prepaid card already in Wallet.
  • Features, limits, and availability can vary by region and can change over time, so it is worth checking Appleā€™s current Apple Cash/Apple Pay support pages if something does not match what you see on your screen.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.