iOS 11.2 released this past weekend, and with it a feature we’ve been waiting for since its announcement earlier this year: Apple Pay Cash.
This new feature allows users to easily make and receive payments with their Apple Pay account. Money can then be spent with Apple Pay, online or in person, or it can be withdrawn to a regular bank account.
Once you’ve updated to iOS 11.2, you’ll see Apple Pay Cash appear as a card in the Wallet app. You can also access it from the App Drawer in the Messages app, which is the easiest way to initiate transactions with friends and family.
It’s fairly straightforward to use, but there are a few quirks to the service. iDownloadBlog has produced an excellent “Hands on with Apple Pay Cash” video to explain the basics – we recommend it as the quickest way to get to grips with the new service. We’ve embedded the four-minute video below.
This is Apple’s attempt to compete with money transfer services like Venmo, Square, and PayPal – we’ll see how successful that plan is over the coming months, but the fact so many people use Apple Pay already will certainly work in its favor.