Apple Wallet is not the same as Apple Pay: here’s how they differ

Apple Pay and Apple Wallet have distinct functionality, although the two names are often used interchangeably. Apple Wallet is an iPhone app (with a companion tool for Apple Watch) that acts as a digital wallet for storing digital versions of debit and credit cards, car insurance cards, boarding passes, IDs and more. Apple Pay, on the other hand, is Apple’s digital payment service that allows you to use your cards to make purchases in a physical location or online.

For Apple Pay in-store, you tap your iPhone on an NFC terminal and press the button Side button twice. Your iPhone will then confirm your identity with Face/Touch ID or your PIN to complete a purchase. Using Apple Pay online is similar to services like PayPal, where you choose a card and authenticate. No matter what or where you buy, you use Apple Pay to buy something with a card stored in your Apple Wallet.

The wallet can also hold many items that aren’t directly related to payments, like concert tickets or store loyalty cards. In this case, it acts as a secure place to hold these items and keep them easily accessible.

Using a payment card with Apple Pay involves much more than Apple Wallet storing your card details and transmitting them to the merchant. Instead, it creates a unique Device Account Number (DAN) for each card and stores it in Secure Element, a chip on your device to securely store sensitive information.

When you make a payment, Apple sends the DAN, along with a one-time security code specific to that transaction, to the merchant. The store never sees your real credit or debit card number. And Apple’s servers don’t store identifying information about you with transaction history.

This is also why an authentication step is required when using Apple Pay. Face ID can be inconvenient with tap-to-pay on a terminal, so you may want to scan your face before using the NFC touchpoint. As a fallback, you can use your password instead. Confirmation is also required for online purchases, whether from the App Store, a food app order, or a purchase through Safari. Apple Wallet crosses the payment process, since you can choose from all the cards you have in your wallet.

You can check the last four digits of a card’s unique device account number in Apple Wallet. Open Apple Walletselect a card and tap the icon button (…) with three dots followed by Card details. There, press Map informationand after authenticating with Face ID you will see the Apple Pay last four digits at the bottom. You can use it to distinguish purchases made with Apple Pay from other ways to use the card.

Sending money to a friend or family member is a feature of Apple Cash, a feature related to Apple Pay. With Apple Cash, you can send or request money via iMessage or directly through the Apple Cash card in your wallet using Tap to Cash. It’s as simple as selecting someone from your contacts, entering the amount you want to send, and authenticating. Of course, the contact’s phone number must be linked to their Apple account and they must be eligible for Apple Cash.

After receiving money, you will have access to an Apple Cash “card”, which is usually located at the top of your Apple Wallet. From its menu, you can add money via debit card, set up recurring payments to others, or make a transfer to your bank. Apple Cash is not a universal payment service; it’s only good for those who own Apple devices. If the recipient only has Android, you’ll need to use another service like Venmo.

As we’ve seen, Apple Wallet and Apple Pay often interact, but are separate and perform different functions. Apple Wallet is where all your digital payment options are stored. Apple Pay lets you pay merchants or make online purchases. And Apple Cash lets you send money to friends or family.