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How to Set Up Apple Pay

    Most Canadians and Americans want to know the best way to pay for products and services. As there are many associated payment processing services available today, you need to make sure you can pay for products and services correctly. If you are using any of the major banks in Canada, such as Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank, Scotiabank and/or CIBC, you have many options for making verified payments. One of the most popular payment processing systems today is Apple Pay.

    What is Apple Pay?

    Apple Pay is a simple and effective tool to make payments from many venues. Apple Pay offers an easily verified and trusted payment processor; this allows you to make payments without a credit or debit card. Instead, you can use Apple Pay, once set up, to make a payment using your phone.

    For that reason, we highly recommend that if you want to make day-to-day transactions across North America simpler, you should install the Apple Pay app today. Apple Pay was first introduced with iOS version 8 and was initially aimed at iPhone 6+ devices. It is widely available today. You can now use your phone to make swift, contactless, cashless payments. Useful, especially in 2020, when COVID-19 continues to push us towards less use of physical cash.

    If you wish to start using this product, you must first setup Apple Pay on your mobile device. How can Canadians and Americans make the setup of Apple Pay as easy as possible?

    Steps for setting up Apple Pay

    1.     What do you need?

    Before you do anything else, make sure that you have all the following in place:

    • You have an Apple device that can use Apple Pay (the minimum requirements are explained below).
    • You are the owner of a fully working Apple ID that is signed into the iCloud.
    • You are using a card that is accepted by Apple Pay, and from a bank in Canada/America that accepts Apple Pay transactions.
    • You have downloaded the latest operating system update for your chosen Apple device, making sure that you can log on with ease.

    If you have all the above, then you should be able to set up Apple Pay- a safe, secure, cashless payment processor that allows for easy access to your money on demand.

    2.     Update your Apple device

    First off, make sure that you are using an iPhone that is compatible with Apple Pay. You will need to be using a device that is at least an iPhone 6 or 6+, and it must be updated to the iOS 8.1 operating system or later. To verify this, check your iPhone settings for the version that you have. Check the ‘Software Update’ section. If necessary, update your system.

    3.     Look for Wallet and Apple Pay

    You will now need to look for a specific setting within the Apple Settings. It is called Wallet and Apple Pay. However, please note on some older devices it might be called Passbook and Apple Pay instead.

    Once you have located this setting, click it. You will be taken to a page titled Pay and Passes. Here, you want to click on the small + sign that is in the right-hand top corner, or simply hit the ‘Add Credit or Debit Card’ function. Click this, and you will then be asked to input the details needed to make payments.

    Please note that at this stage, you will be asked to enter a passcode or other verification, if you use one. If your iPhone device does not use this, then you should probably set this up as a secondary form of verification for added security. Otherwise, you are making it easy for someone to use your device for payments.

    You will be able to add a new credit or debit card to your passbook at this time.

    4.     Entering your details

    Now you will need to type in your credit or debit card details. Make sure you check the information that you are entering; this must be 100% accurate to ensure that your payments are not going to be rejected in the future.

    You can also use the photo detection feature if you feel comfortable doing so. This will instead snap a photo of your card, putting in the information automatically. Some people, though, might prefer to put their numbers in manually.

    Once you do this, you will be taken to the Terms and Conditions. While many people skim over such content, we recommend that you read over this thoroughly. Make sure that you 100% understand what is being asked of you, and then once you are ready, accept the terms. To do that, read to the bottom and then hit the ‘Agree’ button – this is normally in the bottom right-hand side of the application.

    You will then be asked to verify the setting of your card. If you wish to verify your card for Apple Pay, then you have a few options to choose from. It will normally be a choice between an SMS message or a call to your bank.

    Once you choose a verification system, you will be given a verification code. You simply need to enter this into the verification box. The account will be verified/approved.

    If this has been successful, you will be shown a photo of a generic card from your bank and a ‘Card Activated’ message.

    5.     Using Apple Pay

    At this point, you will be left with a fully accessible account that allows you to start making transactions right away. You will be sent confirmation from Apple Pay that says that your card has been activated as extra confirmation. Enjoy making your payments with Apple Pay – a contactless payment. Simply hold your device up to the payment processor in the business where you are making a purchase, and it should manage the payment for you.

    View more information about Apple Pay.

    Christopher - BSc, MBA

    With over two decades of combined Big 5 Banking and Agency experience, Christopher launched Underbanked® to cut through the noise and complexity of financial information. Christopher has an MBA degree from McMaster University and BSc. from Western University in Canada.

    Christopher - BSc, MBA

    Christopher - BSc, MBA

    With over two decades of combined Big 5 Banking and Agency experience, Christopher launched Underbanked® to cut through the noise and complexity of financial information. Christopher has an MBA degree from McMaster University and BSc. from Western University in Canada.