You add money to Apple Pay by loading funds onto your Apple Cash card through the Wallet app on your iPhone. The process takes about 30 seconds and requires a linked debit or prepaid card. You can add between $10 and $10,000 per transaction, and there are a few other ways money can land in your balance too.
How to Add Money From a Debit Card
Before you can add funds, you need a debit or prepaid card already saved in your Wallet app. If you don’t have one linked yet, open Wallet, tap the plus button, and follow the prompts to add your card. Credit cards and gift cards cannot be used to fund Apple Cash.
Once your debit card is in Wallet, here’s how to load money:
- Open the Wallet app on your iPhone.
- Tap your Apple Cash card.
- Tap Add Money.
- Enter the amount you want to add (minimum $10).
- Tap Add, then confirm with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
The funds typically appear in your Apple Cash balance right away, though Apple notes that security checks may occasionally delay availability. There are no fees for adding money from a debit card.
Transfer Limits
Apple caps how much you can add based on your account type:
- Standard accounts: Up to $10,000 per transaction and $10,000 within any seven-day period.
- Apple Cash Family members (under 18): Up to $2,000 per transaction and $2,000 within any seven-day period.
The minimum for any single transfer is $10. Your total Apple Cash balance can hold up to $20,000 after you’ve verified your identity. Identity verification happens within the Wallet app and involves providing personal details like your Social Security number and date of birth.
Receiving Money From Other People
Another way to build your Apple Cash balance is by receiving payments from other Apple users through Messages. When someone sends you money via iMessage, it either goes straight into your balance or waits for you to accept it, depending on your settings.
To choose between automatic and manual acceptance, open Wallet, tap your Apple Cash card, tap the More button, then tap Card Details. From there you can toggle between “Automatically Accept Payments” and “Manually Accept Payments.” If you use the manual setting, you’ll see an Accept button inside the Messages conversation when someone sends you money. You have seven days to accept before the payment expires and returns to the sender.
If someone sends you money and you haven’t set up Apple Cash yet, tapping Accept in the message will walk you through the setup process on the spot.
Other Ways Money Enters Your Balance
If you have an Apple Card, the Daily Cash rewards you earn on purchases can be deposited directly into your Apple Cash balance. This happens automatically once you’ve set up Apple Cash, giving you a small but steady trickle of funds without any manual transfers.
There’s no way to deposit physical paper money directly into Apple Cash at a retail location. If you have cash in hand and want it in your Apple Pay balance, the workaround is to deposit the cash into your bank account first, then use your linked debit card to transfer the funds into Apple Cash through the Wallet app.
What You Can Do With Apple Cash
Once money is in your Apple Cash balance, you can use it anywhere Apple Pay is accepted, both in stores (by holding your iPhone or Apple Watch near the payment terminal) and online. You can also send money to friends and family through Messages, or transfer your balance out to a linked bank account if you’d rather move the funds elsewhere. Transfers to your bank account are free with a one-to-three-day standard transfer, or you can pay a small fee for an instant transfer that arrives within minutes.