Apple Pay Cash leverages Discover Network for new virtual debit card
In order to bring the Apple Pay Cash debit card to life, Apple has utilized credit card provider Discover, whose Discover Network debit services power the virtual tap-to-pay card for money transfers and in-store purchases.
Apple Pay Cash transactions are handled through the Discover Network payment network, a division of Discover Card. Discover is the fourth-largest credit card brand in the U.S., behind Visa, MasterCard and American Express, boasting nearly 44 million customers as of mid-2016.
Discover officially announced its relationship on Tuesday, soon after Apple Pay Cash officially went live in the U.S.
Users can also open the iOS Settings application, then Wallet, and select their Apple Pay Cash card to see under "Card Details" that the virtual debit card is powered by "Discover Debit." By default, the card has a PIN number of "0000" that cannot be changed, for when Apple Pay is used at a terminal that requires a PIN number for debit transactions.
Apple Pay Cash card services are provided by Green Dot Bank, while the debit card rails are handled through the Discover Network.
Users must still have a separate credit or debit card to transfer money to an Apple Pay Cash card -- as of Tuesday's launch, there is no way to transfer funds directly from a bank to the Apple card. Money saved to Apple Pay Cash can, however, be transferred off of the card and into a bank account.
By default, funds received through Apple Pay Cash are stored on the card where they can be spent at the store, as with a normal debit card, or transferred to a bank account.
Though retail purchases are possible with Apple Pay Cash, the service's primary function is an easy way to transfer money between friends through iMessage. With iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2, the Apple Pay Cash app for iMessage enables money person-to-person money transfers from within a text message conversation.
The new service is Apple's response to existing offerings like Venmo and Square Cash.
For years, Discover has been quick to adopt new capabilities as they launch in iOS through its own app, including features like Touch ID and later Face ID, as well as widgets and watchOS support. In October, the company began allowing customers to claim cashback bonuses for Apple Pay transactions directly through the iPhone's Wallet app.
Apple Pay Cash transactions are handled through the Discover Network payment network, a division of Discover Card. Discover is the fourth-largest credit card brand in the U.S., behind Visa, MasterCard and American Express, boasting nearly 44 million customers as of mid-2016.
Discover officially announced its relationship on Tuesday, soon after Apple Pay Cash officially went live in the U.S.
Users can also open the iOS Settings application, then Wallet, and select their Apple Pay Cash card to see under "Card Details" that the virtual debit card is powered by "Discover Debit." By default, the card has a PIN number of "0000" that cannot be changed, for when Apple Pay is used at a terminal that requires a PIN number for debit transactions.
Apple Pay Cash card services are provided by Green Dot Bank, while the debit card rails are handled through the Discover Network.
Users must still have a separate credit or debit card to transfer money to an Apple Pay Cash card -- as of Tuesday's launch, there is no way to transfer funds directly from a bank to the Apple card. Money saved to Apple Pay Cash can, however, be transferred off of the card and into a bank account.
By default, funds received through Apple Pay Cash are stored on the card where they can be spent at the store, as with a normal debit card, or transferred to a bank account.
Though retail purchases are possible with Apple Pay Cash, the service's primary function is an easy way to transfer money between friends through iMessage. With iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2, the Apple Pay Cash app for iMessage enables money person-to-person money transfers from within a text message conversation.
The new service is Apple's response to existing offerings like Venmo and Square Cash.
For years, Discover has been quick to adopt new capabilities as they launch in iOS through its own app, including features like Touch ID and later Face ID, as well as widgets and watchOS support. In October, the company began allowing customers to claim cashback bonuses for Apple Pay transactions directly through the iPhone's Wallet app.
Comments
As I said in the previous comment, the fact that Apple Pay Cash uses Discover debit (Pulse) suggests that it would be more widely accepted than Discover credit (which has limited reach vs. its competitors). Pulse debit is pretty widely accepted.
If anyone knows of any retailers that accept Apple Pay/NFC but *do not* accept Discover card, then we can find out if it's a problem. But I'm guessing the number of companies that fall in that Venn diagram overlap is pretty low.
In this case, Discover would be the card brand, then Green Dot would be the backing bank.
They sold off their financial services including Discover in 1993… And now Sears is dead in Canada and on life support in the US?
How things change.
If you use a debit card instead, there is no 3% fee. This has been covered time and time again in the various discussions about this service, dating back to the original developer beta in June.
For more details, please read the Green Dot Bank fine print.
https://www.moviepass.com/
I've been using the service for a number of years, but now it's almost like why wouldn't you? Why they went from Discover to MasterCard?!?! I wonder what Apple will use for outside of the U.S.?
Would a persona be able to see The Last Jedi on opening night (2D movie only, no 3D)?
Am I missing something? We don't have to get a Discover card, we just use our existing cards, although I'll need to add my debit card to Apple Pay. I don't understand why anyone is even talking about MoviePass.
The problem is, Discover is not as widely accepted as Visa, MasterCard and American Express. So there is a question as to whether a Discover debit card will be accepted at a business that accepts Apple Pay and NFC payments, but does not accept Discover. I don't know of any, but I am guessing some exist. As I speculated earlier, Discover debit, through its Pulse debit service, may be more widely accepted than Discover credit, which is known for higher fees.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/07/13/apple-pay-launches-in-uk-with-support-from-250k-stores-8-banks