How to add money to Apple Pay: full guide

Apple Pay¹ and Apple Cash² offer convenient ways to make contactless payments in person, online and in-apps, or to send money within the US to other Apple customers. If you’re new to Apple Pay, this guide is for you.

We’ll look in detail at how to add money to Apple Pay and Apple Cash, as well as covering how to use Apple Pay when sending money internationally with a Wise account.

How to add money to Apple Pay: step by step

It’s probably helpful to start off with a quick round up of your options with Apple, when it comes to spending and making payments.

There’s Apple Pay, which is the Apple feature which lets you make contactless payments through your smart device, in person and when shopping online. And there’s also Apple Cash.

Apple Cash is a digital card which is held in your Apple Wallet app — it’s a default setting so you don’t need to manually add it if you have an Apple US account.

Apple Cash is where you’ll be able to receive payments from others through Apple, where any cashback you earn from an Apple Card³ will be deposited, and also the primary way of paying when you send money to others through your Apple Wallet or Messages.

How you use Apple Pay and Apple Cash is a little different, so we’ll break down your options next.

Apple Pay: adding a card for contactless payments

With Apple Pay you’ll have the option to fund transactions with either any balance you hold in your Apple Cash account, or any linked card or other payment method. We’ll look at how you can add money to Apple Cash in just a moment — first let’s start with how you add a card to Apple Pay⁴:

Step 1. Open Wallet on your iPhone or smart device

Step 2. Tap Debit or Credit card, then Continue

Step 3. Follow the prompts to add your new card — you may be able to do this simply by scanning your card with your phone’s camera

Step 4. Your bank or card issuer may ask you to complete a verification step to confirm it’s you who has added the card

Step 5. You’re ready to use the card you’ve added with Apple Pay

Once you have a card added to Apple Pay you don’t need to add money to the Apple Pay balance — instead, Apple Pay just deducts the money you need when you make a payment, directly from your preferred linked card.

Apple Cash: how to add money to Apple Cash

Apple’s in-built virtual card, the Apple Cash card, is the default funding method when you send a payment to someone through Apple Messages or Wallet. It’s also where you’ll find any money sent to you through Apple, and where Apple Card cash bank is deposited.

You can use Apple Cash through Apple Pay to make contactless payments, too. However, if you don’t hold enough of a balance in your Apple Cash account you’ll be able to add more easily⁵:

Step 1. Open the Wallet app and tap the Apple Cash card

Step 2. Tap More, and select Add Money

Step 3. Enter an amount to add — from a minimum of 10 USD

Step 4. Tap Add and select the card you want to use to fund the payment

Step 5. Confirm and you’re done

To add funds to your Apple Cash balance with a card you’ll need to first add the card following the steps set out above. Cards must be US issued debit or eligible prepaid cards — credit cards can’t be used to load money into Apple Cash.

Costs and fees of adding money to Apple Pay

Apple Pay doesn’t charge a fee for adding a card to your Wallet, or for making a transfer within the US. However, that doesn’t mean there are no fees at all when you use Apple Pay.

Here’s a look at some of the most common Apple Pay costs:

Send money abroad using Apple Pay with Wise

Apple Cash offers easy ways to send payments from your phone to other people based in the US. However, if you’re sending money in a foreign currency or to anyone overseas, you’ll need a different solution.

The Wise account can help. Open a free personal Wise account online or in the Wise app, and send money to 80+ countries with a low, transparent fee and the mid-market rate. Pay for your transfer using Apple Pay, to send your fast, secure international payment through Apple Pay and Wise.

We also mentioned that any foreign transaction fees applied by your card issuer will still be levied when you spend internationally with your card and Apple Pay. Beat foreign transaction fees with the Wise international debit card.

Get your card online or in-app for a one time fee, and add it to Apple Pay for contactless spending with the mid-market rate in 174 countries.

You can hold and exchange 50+ currencies in your Wise account — and there’s no foreign transaction fee to pay when you spend any currency you hold.

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Common questions about adding money to Apple Pay

Let’s dive into some frequently asked questions about how to add money to Apple Pay.

Can you add money to Apple Pay without a debit card?

You can add money to Apple Pay/Apple Cash in several ways. You can use a linked debit card — but if you’re wondering how to add money to Apple Pay without a debit card, the good news is that you may also be able to have someone else send you a payment through Apple Pay, which is then deposited into your Apple Cash account.

If you have an Apple Card it’s also good to know that any cashback you earn while spending with the Apple Card is also deposited into your Apple Cash account for convenient spending.

Can you add money to Apple Pay with a gift card?

Wondering how to add money to Apple Pay with a gift card? Unfortunately, you’re out of luck. You can not add money to Apple Cash with a gift card — even if the gift card is also in your Apple wallet.

Can you add money to Apple Pay in another currency?

No. You can only add money to Apple Cash using a US debit card, or an eligible US prepaid card.

However, if you want to make a payment overseas and pay using a foreign currency card you hold on Apple Pay, you can do so with a Wise account.

Using Apple Pay and Apple Cash is easy, once you’re all set up. Follow this simple guide to adding a card to spend with Apple Pay, and depositing funds into your Apple Cash account with your linked card.

And if you’re sending or spending money internationally, check out Wise for low cost overseas payments with the real mid-market exchange rate.