How to Use Apple Pay in an App on iPhone

* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

Apple Pay is a popular digital wallet integrated with the iPhone's Wallet app, and also available on other major Apple devices like the iPad or even Mac laptops. While it can be used as a contactless payment option inside stores, you can also use it within many mobile apps.

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Why You'll Love This Tip

  • Secure storage of payment information.
  • No need to save payment info in more than one app.
  • You can use Apple Pay in stores and on websites as well.

Related: How Secure Is Apple Pay, How to Set It Up & Where to Use It

How to Use Apple Pay in an App

Using Apple Pay in one of your iPhone mobile apps is generally easy and intuitive but there are a couple little hiccups you might run into. For this example, we'll show how it works in one app, Etsy. For more quick guides on topics like this, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

  1. Open the app.

    Home screen with Etsy app marked.
  2. Tap the product you'd like to purchase.

    Etsy app with a product marked.
  3. On the product page, you tap the Buy with Apple Pay button.

    Etsy purchase screen with Buy with Apple Pay button marked.
  4. On this screen you can change payment details such as changing which card or account you've added to Apple Pay to use, by tapping the default card.

    Apple Pay screen in Etsy app with the Discover default payment method marked.
  5. Here it shows the cards currently verified for use in Apple Pay. Tap the one you want to use.

    Payment Method screen in Etsy app with both payment methods marked.
  6. Once you've selected your payment method, double click on the iPhone's Side button to confirm the purchase.

    Double Click to Pay

It's important to note that exactly how each app handles Apple Pay may vary. For example, you can use Apple Pay with Uber Eats but it does not seem to give a way to use any account in Apple Pay other than the default. This keeps the interface simple, but if you need to change which account is being used, you'll need to change the default in the Wallet & Apple Pay screen of the Settings app.

The other simple hiccup you might run into is that if you haven't added a payment account to Apple Pay and verified it, the option to use Apple Pay may not even appear in the app, which might give someone the impression that it isn't an option. If you haven't set up Apple Pay yet, it's very quick and easy to do. Check out our guide on how to set up Apple Pay on your iPhone for step-by-step guidance. Next, learn how to add a transit card to your Apple Wallet or how to refill it directly from the Maps app.

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