Apple finally releases its Venmo killer, Apple Pay Cash
Sorry, Venmo, the party is over. Apple Pay Cash is finally here.
Months after teasing Apple Pay Cash at its World Wide Developer Conference, Apple is ready to release the person-to-person payment option -- at least in beta form.
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Starting with iOS 11.2 Beta, which arrives Tuesday, iPhone and iMessage users will be able to send and receive cash payments directly from inside the iPhone's Messages app using iMessage (as long as their contacts also install the latest iOS Beta). The full version will arrive when iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2 are released for all iPhone and Apple Watch users later this year.
For Apple, Apple Pay Cash is a natural extension of its Apple Pay contact-less payment system.
The service has grown, according to Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay, from 3% acceptance at retail when Apple Pay launched in 2015 to more than 50% of all retail. Still, the overarching goal for Apple Pay was, she said, "to replace the wallet," And with billions of person-to-person cash payments happening each month for everything from paying the baby-sitter to splitting the dinner check, Apple knew it couldn't reach that goal without adding support for these everyday payments.
Like other person-to-person payment systems (Venmo, Zelle), Apple Pay Cash will let you use a credit or debit card to pay someone directly through your smartphone. Unlike, Venmo, there is no special Apple Pay Cash app. Instead, Apple Pay Cash lets you pay and receive funds through the Messages app.
The feature will appear as the Apple Pay logo in the App Drawer, the shallow bar that appears below your iMessage thread and that, for iPhone X owners, is also home to Animojis (soon to be the second best reason to use the App Drawer).
You can tap the icon and send money to your iMessage contact. The money is drawn from a debit or credit card you already have in your Apple Wallet on the iPhone. Debit cards will let you send the funds for free, but credit cards put an industry-standard 3-percent fee on every transactions.
Notification that money is now part of an iMessage thread appears as a special iMessage chat bubble. You have to click "Accept Money" to receive your funds.
If you're lucky enough to be on the receiving side, the money is automatically deposited in a new Apple PayCash Card, which is created automatically and lives inside your Apple Wallet.
"Apple Cash can be used instantly in any place Apple Pay is accepted," said Bailey.
You can also choose to transfer those funds from the Apple Cash Card to your own checking account, so you can spend it in all the places that don't accept Apple Pay.
Apple Pay Cash won't significantly alter the look of iMessages. In fact, the messaging system will watch for discussions about money or splitting payment and add a little indicator near the comment. If someone writes in iMessage, for instance,, "Hey, you owe me $20 for those movie tickets," there'll be a link near the message. If you click it, it will open Apple Pay Cash Wallet so you can initiate a $20 digital cash transaction.
Contacts who can accept Apple Pay Cash Payments will have a little dollar sign next to their info in the Contacts app.
Apple Pay Cash will also work with Siri ("Hey Siri, send Lance Ulanoff $100") and Apple Watch.
Each transaction requires authentication: Face ID on the iPhone X, Touch ID on iPhone 8. 8 Plus and other Touch ID-enabled iPhones, and your passcode on Apple Watch.
Apple Pay Cash may be convenient, but it doesn't have a clear path to millennial hearts or wallets. PayPal's Venmo is still the market leader, boasting huge growth, skyrocketing from $2.5 B quarterly transactions in 2015 to over $8 Billion in Q2. In addition, some of the biggest banks in America, including Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citibank, joined forces last summer to launch their own person-to-person payment system, Zelle.
Why would anyone choose Apple Pay Cash over Venmo or Zelle?
"First is that it's in Messages," said Bailey, "Millions and millions are already using it to communicate with friends and family,' she said. These are precisely the people you would normally be conducting person-to-person cash payments (think about how many kids are about to start getting their allowance this way).
In addition, noted Bailey," there's no app to download or even concern that someone else is also using the same app." They will, though, need to be using the most-up-to-date iOS to access Apple Pay Cash and the Apple Pay Cash Card.
In addition, making using these funds as easy as sending and receiving them should inspire more people to start using this cashless cash payment system.
"We’re unlocking funds that historically, in other systems, might have been harder to access or use immediately," said Bailey.
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
