Apple Wallet is an app for the iPhone and Apple Watch that makes it easy to make mobile payments without carrying credit cards. Here's how to use it.
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People tend to talk about Apple Pay and Apple Wallet as one and the same thing, but that's not quite true.
While Apple Pay is a mobile payment service you can use to make purchases from various Apple devices, Apple Wallet is the app that holds your credit cards and allows you to actually use Apple Pay to make purchases.
There's more to Apple Wallet than that, though. It is a secure place to hold debit and credit cards as well as transit cards and — in some states — even your driver's license.
The wallet also stores loyalty cards, concert tickets, and more. Here's everything you need to know about using your Apple Wallet.
Apple Wallet is an app that's built into iOS on your iPhone.
It's a part of WatchOS on Apple Watch and the MacOS on Apple computers as well. You can find it on your iPhone's home screen or by swiping down on the home screen and searching for "wallet."
You don't even need to turn on your iPhone to get to the Apple Wallet. Double-press the iPhone's side button; after your phone authenticates you with Face ID or Touch ID, it'll display the wallet so you can browse your cards and other stored items.
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Apple Wallet is most commonly known as a way to make mobile purchases, but it's increasingly a digital storage space for everything you need to take on the go.
In addition to credit cards, you can add loyalty cards from your favorite retailers, like grocery stores, department stores, and restaurants. If you purchase concert tickets from sites, like Ticketmaster and Live Nation, you'll have the option to add the e-tickets to your Apple Wallet. You can quickly pull up the ticket on your phone or watch when you arrive at the venue instead of trying to find an email and open an attachment.
Many airlines allow you to add your boarding pass to your Apple Wallet, which you can scan at the gate as if you were making a purchase with Apple Pay.
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Likewise, many medical services let you add vaccination cards and your healthcare ID card to the Apple Wallet.
A few states — currently Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland — even allow you to add a digital version of your driver's license to the Apple Wallet.
The most common way to use your Apple Wallet is to make purchases with credit cards via Apple Pay. This works at most point of sale terminals in retail stores — you can look for signs that the terminal accepts Apple Pay or tap-to-pay credit cards.
If you've already added one or more credit cards to your Apple Wallet, double-press the side button and use Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate yourself. The authentication process keeps a stranger from using your phone to make purchases with your credit cards.
Your default credit card will be selected automatically. If you want to use a different one, scroll through the list and select a different card.
Finally, hold your phone near the terminal's credit card reader until you see a checkmark appear. Your transaction is complete.
Quick tip: You can also make payments using your Apple Watch. Double-press the side button and choose the card you want to use — then hold your watch near the terminal's reader until you hear a beep.
If you use your Apple Wallet to hold other kinds of cards, like concert tickets or airline boarding passes, it's easy to show them, too.
Open your Apple Wallet from the iPhone's home page and browse through the passes until you find the one you want.
Alternatively, you can double-press the side button and use Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate yourself. Then flip through the cards and passes until you find the item you are looking for.
There are no fees or subscriptions required to use Apple Wallet. You can use it to store and use credit cards with Apple Pay to make purchases and add other kinds of passes like loyalty cards, boarding passes, and medical information.
Many iPhone and Apple Watch users find Apple Wallet a convenient, safe, and secure way to make mobile payments and store important tickets and passes.
It's certainly convenient — there's no need to print tickets before heading to a concert, for example, or to carry easily misplaced boarding passes when leaving for the airport. And you can leave some or all of your credit cards behind if you've loaded them into your Apple Wallet.
Even so, your mileage may vary. Depending on where you live, you might find that your favorite retailers don't support Apple Pay, meaning you would need to carry a physical credit card and your iPhone. And you'll always need a backup plan, like physical cards or a portable battery, in case of a dead iPhone battery.
If you don't yet have a credit or debit card connected to your Apple Wallet, you'll need to do that to start using Apple Pay.
Open Apple Wallet on your iPhone and tap the Plus sign at the top right. Tap Debit or Credit Card and follow the instructions to add a card to Apple Pay. You can use your phone's camera to scan the front of the card or type your card number and other information manually.
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Once you're done adding a card, you can add additional cards or just start using Apple Wallet to make purchases when you're on the go.
