How Apple Pay Works

Launched in 2014 in the United States, Apple Pay has finally arrived in Italy. If you have never heard of it, it is a payment system that allows you to purchase goods and services using your iPhone or Apple Watch. It is compatible with all iPhone models starting from iPhone 6, with all Apple Watch models and can be used both online (for example to buy products via the app) and in physical stores. Payment in physical stores takes place as with contactless credit cards, therefore through the simple approach of the iPhone or Apple Watch at the POS. All without commissions or monthly fixed costs.

To take advantage of Apple Pay, you must add a supported credit card to your Apple Wallet. A supported credit card is a credit card issued by one of the institutions that currently guarantee support for Apple Pay. At the moment the institutions (and therefore the cards) supported by Apple Pay in Italy are not many, but the situation is destined to change quickly. As for the apps and shops where you can use the service, however, the situation is much better: there are already many shops that accept Apple Pay and, as already mentioned above, direct payment via NFC chip works. with all POS equipped with contactless support, therefore in many stores throughout the country (as well as in other countries where Apple Pay is available).

On the security front, there are no problems or risks whatsoever. Card details added to Apple Wallet are not stored on Apple’s device or servers, nor are they shared with merchants when paying for goods or services. In short, if you have an iPhone and a supported credit card, don’t miss the opportunity to try Apple Pay because it could be much more convenient than you think! Now I’ll explain better how it works.

Index

• Apple Pay compatible devices
• Cards supported by Apple Pay
• Stores and apps that accept Apple Pay
• How to associate a card with Apple Pay
• How to pay with Apple Pay
• Apple Pay for merchants

Apple Pay compatible devices

As already specified at the beginning of the tutorial, Apple Pay is compatible with all iPhone models starting from iPhone 6 and with all variants of the Apple Watch, but in reality, the service can also be used on Mac and iPad. Here is the detailed list of all devices supported by Apple Pay at this time.

• iPhone– iPhone 6 and later, iPhone 6 Plus and later, iPhone SE and later. With these devices, you can pay in physical stores, in apps and on the web via Safari.
• Apple Watch– all models (obviously only when paired with iPhone). With these devices it is possible to pay in physical stores and in apps.
• iPad– 5th generation iPad and later, iPad Pro 2015 and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 3 and later. With these devices, you can pay in apps and on the web via Safari.
• Mac– MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID, all Mac models marketed from 2012 onwards (only when paired with an Apple Pay enabled iPhone or Apple Watch). With these devices, you can only pay on the web with Safari.

Another important thing to underline is that on the devices on which you intend to use Apple Pay you must have configured with an Apple ID associated with iCloud. To know how to create iCloud account and how to use it, read my tutorial dedicated to the subject.

Cards supported by Apple Pay

Apple Pay can be used to make payments both in physical stores and online using credit, debit and prepaid cards of the most popular circuits, such as Mastercard and Visa.

Among the cards compatible with the service, I would like to point out HYPE. If you have never heard of it, HYPE is an electronic money account associated with a Mastercard circuit card (both physical and virtual) perfectly compatible with Apple Pay (and also with Google Pay and Samsung Pay, on Android) ideal for make purchases both in physical stores and online, with the possibility of obtaining cashback on over 500 stores.

HYPE also allows you to send and receive money, send and receive free wire transfers, withdraw from ATMs around the world, pay bills/bills, make phone top-ups, set savings goals to buy and sell Bitcoins and much more. All this can be conveniently managed from the smartphone app and from a PC.

To open a HYPE account, all you need to do is visit the official website and follow the instructions on the screen (everything is done in a few minutes, provided you have a valid identity document at hand). It is possible to choose between different plans: HYPE Start, ie the basic plan of HYPE with no fixed monthly costs; HYPE Next (2.90 euro/month with 20 euro bonus on Amazon using the AMAZON20 code during registration) which breaks down the withdrawal, top-up and spending limits of HYPE Start and adds the possibility to domicile the utilities and credit the salary; and finally HYPE Premium (9.90 euro/month with 25 euro bonus on the first top-up using the code PREMIUM25 in the registration phase) which combines the advantages of HYPE Start and HYPE Next with complete travel insurance (medical and for delayed/canceled flights) with also payments and free withdrawals all over the world, the World credit card Elite Mastercard is a priority assistance service (also via WhatsApp).

After opening the account with HYPE and you activate your card (physical or virtual), to use it with Apple Pay you must add it to Wallet iOS: to do this, went to the section of the Charter of ‘ application of HYPE, press the appropriate button and follow the instructions on the screen. Alternatively, start the iPhone Wallet app, press the (+) button located at the top right and follow the on-screen instructions to frame the card with the camera or enter the data manually.

Once the HYPE card has been added to the iPhone Wallet, you can make your purchases with Apple Pay simply by calling up the service menu (e.g. by pressing the side button twice on iPhones with Face ID or on Apple Watch), unlocking the device (unnecessary operation on Apple Watch) and bringing the latter closer to the POS of the store.

If you want to know more about how HYPE works, do not hesitate to consult the tutorial I have dedicated to the service. If, on the other hand, you want more details on Apple Pay and the cards supported by the latter, read this information page on the Apple website.

Stores and apps that accept Apple Pay

As mentioned in the opening of the post, Apple Pay is already supported by a wide range of physical stores, hotels, bars, websites and apps.

Among the stores that support Apple Pay are those of Apple, Auchan, Carrefour, Eataly, Esselunga, EuroSpin, H&M, Lidl, MediaWorld, Mondadori, OVS, la Rinascente, Sephora, Simply and Unieuro and all the clubs/shops that display the Apple Pay brand (and/or that have POS with contactless support).

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How to associate a card with Apple Pay

To use Apple Pay, you need to add your card to Apple Wallet, the iOS digital wallet that can include credit cards, travel tickets, loyalty cards, and more. The operation is of a disarming simplicity. After you get a card supported by Apple Pay, you need to launch the app you normally use to manage it and look for the Add to Apple Wallet button.

After pressing the button in question, the wizard will start to associate the selected card with Apple Wallet and then with Apple Pay. Then press the Next button located at the top right, choose the device to associate the card with ( iPhone or Apple Watch ) and press the Next button again located at the top right.

Within a few seconds, the system should check the validity of the card, contact the entity to which it belongs and a document with the conditions of use of Apple Pay should appear on the screen. Then accept the conditions of use of Apple Pay by pressing the Accept button located at the bottom right and wait for the addition of the card to your Apple Wallet (and therefore to Apple Pay) to be confirmed.

To associate the card with another device (e.g. an Apple Watch after pairing it with an iPhone), open again the app with which you manage your card, call up the function to add new devices, “tap” the Add to Apple Wallet button and choose the new device on which to enable the use of Apple Pay with the selected card.

Alternatively, you can also open the Apple Wallet app directly, press the (+) button located next to the Apple Play service and add a credit card to your Wallet by first pressing the Next button located at the top right and then framing the card with the camera or by entering data manually (after selecting the appropriate item at the bottom of the screen).

To “manually” add a credit card to Apple Wallet on Apple Watch, launch the Watch app on your iPhone, select the Apple Watch tab located at the bottom left and go to Wallet and Apple Pay. Then, “tap” on the Add credit or debit card item and follow the on-screen instructions to add a new card to your personal Wallet.

If you have a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID, you can add a credit or debit card to Apple Wallet by opening System Preferences (the gear icon found in the Dock bar), selecting the Wallet icon and Apple Pay from the window that opens and pressing the [+] button located in the left sidebar.

How to pay with Apple Pay

Now you are really ready to find out how Apple Pay works, that is, how to pay for a product or service with the Apple payment method.

As abundantly pointed out above, Apple Pay can be used to pay for goods and services online or in physical stores (including hotels, bars and other public places). To use it as an online payment system, just purchase a good or service at a store that includes Apple Pay among the supported payment systems, press the Pay with Pay or Pay button and confirm the transaction using the Touch ID (on iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro).

To use Apple Pay in physical stores, just hold your iPhone near the POS while holding your finger on the Touch ID. Alternatively, you can also press the iPhone Home button twice consecutively while the lock screen is displayed, select the card to use and bring the phone close to the POS. On the Apple website you can find a video that shows the whole procedure in a practical and fast way.

If you have an Apple Watch, you can pay with Apple Pay in physical stores by pressing the side button of the watch twice in a row, selecting the card you want to use and bringing the Apple Watch close to the POS.

Apple Pay for merchants

Are you a merchant and would like to adopt Apple Pay in your store? To accept Apple Pay as a payment method in your store, you need to have a contactless payment-enabled POS. Payments will be treated as card-present transactions and will not incur any additional charges.

To find out more, visit this page on the Apple website where you can find all the information on Apple Pay for merchants.