Apple employees begin testing Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11.1 beta

AppleInsider · October 3, 2017 9:12PM

Apple employees are reportedly testing Apple Pay Cash, the company's take on peer-to-peer payments, as part of an internal evaluation of the service ahead of an anticipated release later this fall.

According to MacRumors forum member Chuck SaaS, an unknown number of Apple employees were recently issued a special device certificate to enable testing of the upcoming Apple Pay feature. The company is encouraging employees with access to both iOS 11.1 and the device certificate to use Apple Pay Cash amongst themselves prior to a public launch this fall.

The forum member is reportedly in contact with an Apple employee selected to test Apple Pay Cash, and shared two screenshots of the system in action. The first is a basic setup splash screen with a graphic of an Apple Pay Cash card, while the second shows a dialogue box consumers can expect to see when a transfer fails.

In this case, the unnamed Apple employee attempted to send a payment to Chuck SaaS, but the transfer was declined because the forum member's device lacked the appropriate credentials.

That Apple is testing Apple Pay Cash within its own ranks suggests the service could launch with iOS 11.1 in the coming weeks. Exactly when the point update is due to hit Apple's servers, however, is unclear.

Unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple Pay Cash is a P2P money transfer system authorized by Apple Pay. Integrated into a Messages app, the service allows iOS device users to send payments that are stored on an Apple Pay Cash card, the balance of which can be used to pay for Apple Pay purchases or transferred to the user's bank account.

Users can provision both credit and debit cards for use with the service, but only debit-based transactions are free. Like other P2P solutions, using a credit card to send money incurs an industry standard 3 percent fee.

curtis hannah · October 3, 2017 9:17PM

Is there any rumors of a October keynote yet? Could this be officially launched then, with likely the final specs/ price of the iMac Pro added(with pre orders as well?). I guess since they updated everything else in June and September, they might end it at 2 keynotes this year.

sans · October 3, 2017 9:48PM

Don't they normally sent out invites about 2 weeks before? So i'm thinking if they were to have one, we would hear by next week (the 10th) for a 24th event. I don't think they would do one on All Hallows Eve.

macxpress · October 3, 2017 10:00PM

curtis hannah said:

Is there any rumors of a October keynote yet? Could this be officially launched then, with likely the final specs/ price of the iMac Pro added(with pre orders as well?). I guess since they updated everything else in June and September, they might end it at 2 keynotes this year.

We've seen all the keynotes were gonna see for this year. Apple has already introduced HomePod and the iMac Pro so I don't see it necessary to have another one just to show off something that has already been announced. There's really no reason to have one. Apple's lineup is set for the holiday's...What you see is what you get with the exception of HomePod being released...and I bet that will be released in limited quantities.

eightzero · October 3, 2017 10:31PM

Again, just so I'm clear on this: who pays the vig? The sender or the recipient?

Soli · October 3, 2017 10:52PM

macxpress said:

curtis hannah said:

Is there any rumors of a October keynote yet? Could this be officially launched then, with likely the final specs/ price of the iMac Pro added(with pre orders as well?). I guess since they updated everything else in June and September, they might end it at 2 keynotes this year.

We've seen all the keynotes were gonna see for this year. Apple has already introduced HomePod and the iMac Pro so I don't see it necessary to have another one just to show off something that has already been announced. There's really no reason to have one. Apple's lineup is set for the holiday's...What you see is what you get with the exception of HomePod being released...and I bet that will be released in limited quantities.

I have no idea what Apple will or won't do, but my gut tells me there's no other Apple event coming this year. Besides the upcoming products you mentioned there also seems to be no word about new Mac notebooks and nothing from Intel that would spark a refresh. I hope we're wrong, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Soli · October 3, 2017 10:58PM

eightzero said:

Again, just so I'm clear on this: who pays the vig? The sender or the recipient?

What I recall reading is that it's a free transfer if you use your debit card, which is no different than using PayPal from a bank account for a friend/family transfer. However, I would doubt that you can set it up with a bank routing number, like PayPal offers, which means you'll have to use your debit card.

If you use a CC it'll be a 3% fee from the sender. This one is odd, to me, since CCs already have much higher interest rates for cash advances, so is this an extra 3% on top of whatever higher interest rates are associated with using a CC for a cash transfer?

ericthehalfbee · October 3, 2017 11:19PM

macxpress said:

curtis hannah said:

Is there any rumors of a October keynote yet? Could this be officially launched then, with likely the final specs/ price of the iMac Pro added(with pre orders as well?). I guess since they updated everything else in June and September, they might end it at 2 keynotes this year.

We've seen all the keynotes were gonna see for this year. Apple has already introduced HomePod and the iMac Pro so I don't see it necessary to have another one just to show off something that has already been announced. There's really no reason to have one. Apple's lineup is set for the holiday's...What you see is what you get with the exception of HomePod being released...and I bet that will be released in limited quantities.

Except we haven’t seen Siri 2.0 yet.

The HomePod is an easy device to manufacture (unlike AirPods or the iPhone X depth sensors). There’s literally no valid reason to delay the launch until December when they’ve already demoed working versions. Clearly they’re waiting for some piece of the puzzle to be ready before launching HomePod. The most likely delay is a major Siri update to improve the smart speaker aspect of HomePod.

jaweston · October 3, 2017 11:27PM

Soli said:

eightzero said:

Again, just so I'm clear on this: who pays the vig? The sender or the recipient
If you use a CC it'll be a 3% fee from the sender.

Is it clear that the sender would pay the 3% fee? This is the opposite of the default payer using PayPal unless the payer transaction is from a PayPal balance, in which case there is no fee.

When someone uses a credit or debit card to pay me via PayPal, I, as the payee, pay the fee.

Also, if a debit card is used to send money via Apple Pay Cash, there is no fee? Are there any other payment issuers that offer this free service unless, of course, you have a dedicated balance with the service provider as with PayPal?

h4y3s · October 4, 2017 11:53AM

Jaweston asked:
Are there any other payment issuers that offer this free service unless, of course, you have a dedicated balance with the service provider as with PayPal?

Yes, Facebook $ is totally free when using debit cards and has been mostly “instant” (within a minute or two for in my experience.

Soli · October 4, 2017 2:59PM

h4y3s said:

Jaweston asked:
Are there any other payment issuers that offer this free service unless, of course, you have a dedicated balance with the service provider as with PayPal?

Yes, Facebook $ is totally free when using debit cards and has been mostly “instant” (within a minute or two for in my experience.

I've used FB to donate to causes and they've taken 5% off the top every time, regardless of the payment method used.

Apple employees begin testing Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11.1 beta

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