How to fix Apple Pay problems on iPhone in iOS 18

This article explains what you can do if Apple Pay stopped working on your iPhone after iOS 18 update.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• To fix Apple Pay problems on iOS 18, first make sure the terminal accepts Apple Pay.
• If it does, try selecting the credit card manually from your Wallet app.
• Other fixes include replacing your credit card in the Wallet app and signing out and back into your Apple ID.

Apple Pay is a service that lets you make mobile purchases using your existing credit cards. You just need to load your credit cards into the Apple Wallet app on your iPhone. After loading your Apple Wallet app with one or more credit cards, you can use Apple Pay to complete purchases at point-of-sale terminals in many restaurants, grocery stores, and retail stores.

At least when it’s working, Apple Pay makes it possible to make purchases without ever pulling your wallet or credit cards out of your pocket. But sometimes, Apple Pay doesn’t quite work as expected. It could be a really bad and embarrassing experience for you to find out that Apple Pay isn’t working is when you’re at the checkout and especially if you’re the first in a long line of customers.

Sometimes you may get error messages like “Could not connect to Apple Pay” or “An error occurred…”. Sometimes when you attempt to pay with Apple Pay just like you did before to pay, nothing happens this time. Here are 13 ways you can fix Apple Pay when it’s not working on iPhone in iOS 18.

how to fix Apple Pay not working on iPhone in iOS 18

1. Make sure the point-of-sale terminal works with Apple Pay

If you’re unable to use Apple pay in iOS 18, first make sure that the point-of-sale terminal works with Apple Pay. Often, there will be a sign indicating that the terminal accepts Apple Pay.

If you hold your phone near the terminal’s credit card reader and nothing happens, ask the person behind the counter if it supports Apple Pay. They’ve likely been asked many times already and can tell you not just whether it works with Apple Pay, but where the best place to hold your phone is and if another terminal will give you better results.

2. Try choosing a card manually

When Apple Pay and the terminal are working normally, the Apple Pay wallet launches automatically and your default credit card will be selected automatically when you bring the phone near the terminal. But if that’s not working, you may want to select the card manually.

1. Open the Wallet app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the card you want to use for the purchase.
3. If you have multiple cards, touch and hold the card you want to use and drag it to the front of your card stack.
4. Hold your phone near the terminal’s credit card reader until you see a checkmark appear.

If you do not see your card in the Default Card list, you will need to add it first. If you need to add a card, follow these steps:

1. Open the Wallet app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Add ( ) button in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Tap Debit or Credit Card.
4. Tap Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions. You will need to enter the card details, which you can do manually by entering its numbers and other details, or you can do this automatically by scanning your card

After adding your card, you can now make it the default card.

3. Quit the Wallet app and then reopen it

Apple Pay works in conjunction with the Wallet app. So, if Apple Pay is not working on your iPhone, quit the Wallet app and then reopen it. Here’s how:

• Go to the Home screen and swipe up (if you have a device with a Home button, double press the Home button), this will reveal the last used app previews.
• Find the Wallet app (you may swipe left or right to find it).
• Swipe up on the Wallet app icon to close it.

4. Make sure the Wallet app is allowed to use cellular data

If the Wallet app is not allowed to use cellular data, it will only use Wi-Fi and thus Apple Pay may not work outside of the Wi-Fi range. Here is how you can check if the Wallet app is allowed to use cellular data:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Cellular.
3. Scroll down to find the “cellular data” section. Scroll down further to find Wallet and make sure that it is enabled.

5. Enable Wallet when your phone is locked

Enabling Wallet access when your iPhone is locked is another important setting to ensure Apple Pay works properly. Here is how you can adjust this setting:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode, depending on your model).
3. Enter your passcode.
4. Scroll down and find the “allow access when locked” section and make sure that Wallet is enabled.

6. Make sure that your Region setting is set correctly on your iPhone

Apple Pay is not available everywhere. So, you should make sure that your Region setting is set correctly on your iPhone. Here is how you can check this:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Language & Region.
4. Tap Region.

7. Check Apple Pay’s system status

There may be a temporary issue with the Apple Servers. Sometimes Apple Servers may be having trouble and be down, causing the Apple Pay service to not work. To see the status of Apple Servers, go to the Apple System Status page and see if Apple Pay & Wallet has a green status light. If it doesn’t, the only thing you can do is to wait for Apple to fix it. Meanwhile, you can make a purchase the old fashioned way.

8. Check for the latest iOS update

If Apple Pay is still not working, make sure that your iPhone is running the latest version of iOS 18. Here’s how to update your iPhone:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Software Update.
4. If an update is available, tap Update Now and follow the onscreen instructions.

9. Restart your iPhone

If you’re still unable to use Apple pay, it’s time to restart your iPhone. This can fix minor software problems and give your iPhone a fresh start.

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Shut Down.
4. Slide the power off slider.
5. Press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo.

10. Replace your credit card in Apple Pay

If you are still having this problem, you may need to replace your default card because your old card may not be valid anymore. Here’s how:

1. Tap Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap Wallet & Apple Pay.
3. Tap the card that isn’t working under the Payment Cards section.
4. Tap Remove This Card. You will need to confirm this choice.
5. Restart your phone.
6. Return to the Wallet & Apple Pay section in Settings.
7. In the Payment Cards section, tap Add Card.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions to add that same card back again.

11. Sign out and back into your Apple ID

Sometimes signing out of your Apple ID and signing back in again can fix a minor issue with the Apple Pay.

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap Sign Out. You’ll need to confirm that you want to do this.
4. Restart your phone.
5. Return to the Settings app and sign back into your Apple ID.

12. Contact your card issuer

If nothing works, check-in with your bank or financial institution that issued your card. Perhaps Apple Pay did not work because your card is declined because of various reasons such as:

• Your card may have expired.
• Your card does not have enough funds available for the transaction.
• Your card payment is past due.
• Your card has been flagged for fraud and thus your account was blocked by your bank.

Simply call your card issuer and find out the reason.

13. Contact Apple customer support

You’ve done your due diligence and tried to fix the issue by ruling out the obvious faults listed above, but if Apple Pay is still not working on your iPhone, it’s time to contact Apple support. There may be a more complex issue with your iPhone that only an Apple support employee can address — for example, the NFC chip used to communicate with the point of sale terminal might not be working. You can get help online, over the phone, or through the mail. You can also schedule an appointment if you want to head into your local Apple Store.

FAQs

Which prepaid cards work with Apple Pay?

Apple Pay works with Visa, Mastercard, and American Express prepaid cards. You can also use Apple Pay with some Discover cards.

Where does Apple Pay work?

According to Apple, Apple Pay is accepted by 85 percent of U.S. retailers including Best Buy, GameStop, Walgreens, Costco, and Target. Basically anywhere that accepts contactless payments takes Apple Pay. Even some vending machines, taxis, and subway stations accept Apple Pay.

Why isn’t Apple Pay working in text messages?

The person you’re trying to send money to may not be eligible to accept payments through text messages. Try deleting the conversation and starting a new one, unlink and relink your card, then restart the Apple Pay and Messages apps. If you still have trouble, update iOS and restart your device.