Apple Extends Internal iOS 11.1 Apple Pay Cash Testing to Retail Employees

Starting in early October, Apple corporate employees in the United States began testing Apple Pay Cash internally in the iOS 11.1 beta, suggesting the person-to-person Apple Pay feature could be introduced in iOS 11.1 despite its current absence from the iOS 11.1 developer beta.

Apple has now expanded its internal Apple Pay Cash feature to its retail employees, making it available to a much wider range of people for testing purposes.

applepaycashsettings
Retail employees gained access to the feature today and have been asked to install both the iOS 11.1 beta and an additional internal-only beta profile to unlock the Apple Pay Cash feature. According to the retail employee who spoke to MacRumors, Apple is also requiring iCloud accounts to be whitelisted to use Apple Pay Cash.

The Apple Pay Cash setup process can be seen in the screenshot below -- it asks customers to verify their identity with name, address, and social security number.

applepaycashsetup
Apple Pay Cash works through the Messages app and is designed to allow for quick person-to-person money transfers, much like Square Cash or Venmo. It's available as a dedicated iMessage app in the built-in Messages app, with cash transferred through iMessage transactions. Though most Apple Pay Cash coverage has focused on the iPhone, money can also be sent using an Apple Watch.

applepaycashsendcash
When sending cash, it can be sent from a linked debit or credit card, while received cash is stored in an Apple Pay Cash card in Wallet that can be used for purchases or sent to a bank account. Sending cash through a credit card incurs a 3% fee, while sending cash from a debit card is free.

The Apple Pay Cash card available in Wallet is being made available through a partnership with Green Dot, a company that offers prepaid Discover cards.

For Apple Pay Cash to work, both parties need to have the feature enabled and activated. Money can only be sent in a one-on-one message, with Apple Pay Cash not available in group messages.

On the Apple Watch, the interface requires you to scroll past the Scribble icon in the Messages app to access the Apple Pay button. Tapping on it allows users to enter a dollar amount using the Digital Crown or on-screen buttons. Payment is then confirmed via a double click on the Digital Crown, but scrolling down allows for users to choose a different payment source than the default.

Apple first announced person-to-person Apple Pay as an iOS 11 feature at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, but it was not implemented in any of the iOS 11 betas and towards the end of the beta testing period, Apple confirmed it would be coming in a future iOS 11 update.

Apple Pay Cash is not present in the current iOS 11.1 beta available to developers and public beta testers, but given the expanded internal beta test, it appears Apple is nearly finished with the feature and is gearing up to release it as part of the iOS 11.1 update.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

Kaibelf Avatar
97 months ago
I really feel that this particular feature will be a tipping point for many people to finally get into cashless day to day life and understand it’s not that scary.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
97 months ago
The Apple Pay Cash setup process can be seen in the screenshot below -- it asks customers to verify their identity with name, address, and social security number.
Really, Apple? Why do we need to verify our identity with a social security number? A social security number is not meant for identification purposes. Let's stop doing this, okay? Thanks
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Böhme417 Avatar
97 months ago
You must live a very sheltered-life. I can't find a retail shop or restaurant that I go to which does NOT accept Apple Pay.
They must live a sheltered life because they don't only go to the same places you do? That comment sounds like the situation is reversed.

I can definitely name more places that DON'T take it than do.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Will.O.Bie Avatar
97 months ago
I really feel that this particular feature will be a tipping point for many people to finally get into cashless day to day life and understand it’s not that scary.
Another way to move away from carrying cash and credit cards. It already started for me a when Apple Pay was introduced. I hardly ever take my wallet out of my pocket nowadays, albeit, the establishments I frequent offer Apple Pay, but you you made a good point that cashless day to day life is not as bad as it seems. I actually find it very convenient and efficient to use. I no longer have to deal with kids giving me the wrong change because they can't count simple math lol.

This is a personal preference so it may be different with other people and their personal experiences. I wish they would do the same with digital driver's license so I DEFINITELY don't have to carry a bulky wallet anymore.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
flat five Avatar
97 months ago
i'm certain that myself, along with a few co-workers, will use this capability pretty much every single day..
also, within my family, i think we'll use it often.
[doublepost=1507937809][/doublepost]
Do people really need to pass cash (or equivalent) back and forth that often? (I never do.)
every day at lunch..
either talk the server into giving separate checks then everybody pays individually..
or
everybody adds their share of the cash into the pot.. (never happens)
or
everybody with cash pays the person without cash who then pays the bill on a card
or
go to the bar to get change so everybody can cash out properly ("oh.. i only have twenties" -- times 5).. give cash to the one person with no cash.. (this last one is the way it usually plays out)
or
IOUs

etcetc.

with peer to peer apple pay.. this process becomes so much easier..
everybody just texts their portion to the one person who then pays the bill..

i'm not exaggerating-- the above scenario is a daily occurrence for me :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
97 months ago
Really, Apple? Why do we need to verify our identity with a social security number? A social security number is not meant for identification purposes. Let's stop doing this, okay? Thanks
Talk to the banks, not Apple. They are the ones who use your SS# to verify and link direct access to a checking account, which is what this does.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)