Apple Pay in Singapore: The only guide you need

Apple Pay is available on all Apple devices including the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac¹. With Apple Pay you can link your bank cards, to use your device to make payments - both when shopping online and in apps, and when you’re in stores and restaurants in person.

This guide walks through how Apple Pay works, including how to get started and what to do if you are unlucky enough to lose your device.

We’ll also touch on the Wise multi-currency account and card which you can use with Apple Pay to make savings when you travel and spend online when shopping with international retailers.

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Apple Pay in Singapore

Apple Pay is one of the most commonly used digital wallets in the world, with over 440 million users worldwide². It’s no surprise that in Singapore, where uptake of digital and mobile payments is fairly high and rising, that Apple Pay is becoming popular.

In the most recently available figures from the Singapore government, we can see that some 30% of average household spending on food and drink is through e-payment. In fact, 97% of households made some form of e-payment over the research period.³

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Apple Pay is popular for its convenience of course - but also for the security features available. 2 factor authentication (2FA) is used for all payments, and your card details are never actually passed to merchants when you make a purchase. Instead, Apple Pay uses a device specific code as well as a unique transaction code to process the charge.

If you have a bank account with one of the major providers here in Singapore, you’ll probably find you can get set up with Apple Pay. Here’s a list of all the Singapore banks and providers which allow customers to use Apple Pay with some or all of their cards:⁴

• American Express (excluding bank issued American Express cards)
• Citibank
• DBS
• HSBC
• OCBC
• POSB
• Singtel
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Wise
• United Overseas Bank

It’s good to know that not all cards available from every bank can be used with Apple Pay. For example, some banks only allow debit cards to be used but don’t support credit cards. Check the terms and conditions for your specific account and card to make sure you’re able to get it set up with Apple Pay.

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One great way to access Apple Pay is to get a free online Wise multi-currency account and card. You can open your account easily, and receive a linked card to spend directly or using Apple Pay.

You’ll be able to hold dozens of different currencies all in the same place, and switch between them using the mid-market exchange rate whenever you want to. There’s only ever a simple, low fee to pay for currency conversion.

That makes the Wise account and card a smart choice if you like to travel or shop with international retailers.

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How to use Apple Pay in Singapore

Here’s how to get set up with Apple Pay using your preferred Apple devices.⁵

Use Apple Pay with your iPhone or iPad⁶ ⁷

• Go to Wallet and select the Plus symbol
• Select Add Card, and either enter your card details manually or use the scan card feature on your phone for ease
• Depending on which bank issued your card, you may then have to take further authentication steps - complete these
• You should now see your card in your Apple Pay Wallet

Use Apple Pay with your Apple Watch⁸

• Go to the My Watch tab on your iPhone
• Tap Wallet
• Select the feature to add your card, and enter the card details following the onscreen instructions
• Depending on your own bank, you might have to complete an additional security step - follow the prompts to confirm your card details
• You’ll be asked if you want that card to be the default for Apple Watch payments, and should be set to go

Use Apple Pay with your Mac⁹

You can easily use Apple Pay with your Mac if you have a model which offers touch ID. If your Mac doesn’t have this feature, you can use your iPhone to allow payments in Mac instead. Go to Settings on your iPhone, select Wallet, and choose the option Allow payments on Mac.

If your Mac has touch ID, follow these steps instead:

• Go to System Preferences and select Wallet
• Tap Add card and follow the onscreen prompts
• You may need to take further steps to fulfil your own bank’s security requirements
• Once your bank verifies your card, you can get started with Apple Pay.

How to make an Apple Pay payment

When you want to actually use Apple Pay in a store or restaurant, you can do the following:¹⁰

If your phone has Face ID:

• Double click the side button
• Look at your phone to activate Face ID, or enter your passcode
• Hold your phone near the card reader until you see a done message and a tick image

If you phone has touch ID:

• Rest your finger on the home button until your card appears on the phone screen
• Hold your phone near the reader - you’ll get a done message when the payment goes through

Pay using your Apple Watch:

• Double click the side button
• Hold your watch close to the card reader
• The payment is done when you feel a tap on your watch

What to do when you lose access to your device or your card gets lost or stolen?

Because of the way Apple Pay works, your card information is not stored on your phone or other device. That improves the security of Apple Pay. If your phone is lost, you can also take the following steps:¹¹

• Use the Find My app to find your lost device. You can either do this online, or via another phone - but you must have activated the Find My service on the lost device for this to work.
• If you had Find My activated on your lost phone, you can mark the phone as Lost, which will disable payments, and can also display a message on the lock screen to help anyone who finds the phone reunite you with it.
• If you don’t have Find My active on your lost device, you’ll need to change your Apple ID password, and of course, report your lost phone to the authorities.

Using Apple Pay is convenient, and makes it faster to buy things online and in person. You’ll also be able to use Apple Pay in stores to avoid carrying and handling cash, and keep your payments contactless. Set up Apple Pay with your Wise multi-currency account and card to be sure you’re getting the very best deal, even when you travel or shop online using foreign currencies.

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Sources:

1. Apple Pay
2. Apple Pay - Statistics & Facts
3. Singapore Statistics Newsletter - Issue 2 2019. Prevalence of e-payment transactions - findings from the household expenditure survey
4. Apple Support - Apple Pay participating banks and card issuers in Asia-Pacific
5. Apple Support - Set up Apple Pay
6. Apple Support - Set up Apple Pay on iPhone
7. Apple Support - Set up Apple Pay on iPad
8. Apple Support - Set up Apple Pay on Apple Watch
9. Apple Support - Add a card on Mac
10. Apple Support - Set up Apple Pay
11. Apple Support - If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen

All sources checked on 11 January 2021