iOS 11's Apple Pay Cash setup may require scanning personal ID

People wanting to fully utilize Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11 may have to scan a photo ID, such as a driver's license, according to the latest beta code discovery.

Lines in the seventh iOS 11 beta reference scanning both the front and back of a card, iHelp BR noted on Friday. If an ID can't be verified, people may be blocked from using person-to-person transfers in Messages, though any Cash balance should continue to work with other Apple Pay transactions.

The ID requirement may — primarily or in part — be linked to a minimum age barrier. The exact age limit is unknown, but Apple is presumably concerned about children abusing their parents' bank accounts and/or being lured into scams.

On a basic level, Apple Pay Cash gives users a PayPal-style holding fund, which can be applied to any kind of Apple Pay transaction. It's main purpose, however, is enabling iOS 11's person-to-person transfers. The finished version of iOS 11 is due sometime this fall, most likely next month ahead of the "iPhone 8,", "7s", and "7s Plus."

In the beta code, Apple claims that Cash "works best" with a debit card. That may be a way of steering people away from credit cards, which will incur a 3 percent fee for person-to-person payments.

25 Comments

rotateleftbyte 1630 comments · 12 Years

About 7 years ago

I hope that there is some way to tell Apple to NOT let any person-to-person transfers happen with my device. It is not a feature that I want on a phone ever. I know that some people do want it. Fine, but as long as I can totally disable it at the Apple end for my device then I'll be happy. It will be interesting to know if there are more ID thefts from using this than without.

fallenjt 4056 comments · 13 Years

rotateleftbyte said:

I hope that there is some way to tell Apple to NOT let any person-to-person transfers happen with my device. It is not a feature that I want on a phone ever. I know that some people do want it. Fine, but as long as I can totally disable it at the Apple end for my device then I'll be happy. It will be interesting to know if there are more ID thefts from using this than without.

Breaking into your mailbox is easier for ID thefts.

franktinsley 163 comments · 15 Years

If scanning photo ID is in place of having to call the bank and verify it's me then I'm all for this change!

sflocal 6135 comments · 16 Years

rotateleftbyte said:

I hope that there is some way to tell Apple to NOT let any person-to-person transfers happen with my device. It is not a feature that I want on a phone ever. I know that some people do want it. Fine, but as long as I can totally disable it at the Apple end for my device then I'll be happy. It will be interesting to know if there are more ID thefts from using this than without.

Maybe there's a sale on tinfoil hats?

If this replaces Venmo for me, I'm game. I'll trust Apple to handle security any day compared to what the competitors have. While no one knows, I don't see any reason that Apple would essentially force you to use it. Chill.

Maybe there's a sale on tinfoil hats?
If this replaces Venmo for me, I'm game. I'll trust Apple to handle security any day compared to what the competitors have. While no one knows, I don't see any reason that Apple would essentially force you to use it. Chill.

As someone who has had their Identity stolen I really don't want to wish it on anyone. I won't go into details but the start of my grief came from a payment to another person. Now 4 years later, I have got it sorted out. Yes, I use Apple Pay but allowing it to make payments to other people is IMHO not good. If I want to make a payment to another person from my bank then I'll do it in other ways.