Apple Pay Declined? Here Are 7 Easy Solutions to Fix It!

Let’s face it – we’ve all been there. 

You just left home for work and stopped at a Starbucks. 

You’re impatiently waiting in line to reach the register ready to checkout, only to have your Apple Pay declined.

Having your Apple Pay declined can be both embarrassing and frustrating. 

This is especially true when you know that you have money in your account. 

So why exactly was your Apple Pay payment declined? 

Don’t worry, it happens to all of us.  Besides, getting your Apple Pay payment declined is common and usually an easy fix. 

In fact, there are several easy ways to fix it so you can get on with your day.

In this post, I’ve explained five possible reasons for having your Apple Pay declined and seven easy solutions to resolve the issue.

5 Possible Reasons Why Your Apple Pay is Declined

Let’s quickly walk through some potential reasons your Apple Pay didn’t work. 

1 – You Might Be Entering an Incorrect PIN

We’ve all fat-fingered a PIN at some point, mixing up numbers or entering an old code out of habit. 

If you recently changed your card’s PIN, it’s easy to accidentally enter the wrong credentials which will lead to a declined Apple Pay. 

So, it’s important for you to double-check that the PIN you’re entering matches the latest code for your card.

2 – Your Debit Card Might Be Having an Issue

If you haven’t goofed up your PIN, the issue likely lies with your bank. Debit cards sometimes randomly decline transactions if there is suspected odd activity or suspected fraud. 

You can confirm this from your iPhone or iPad by following these steps:

• On your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app and tap your name. 
• Go to Payment and Shipping. You may need to type in your Apple ID password to see this section. 
• Look under your card to see if there is red text. Red text means your card does not work anymore. 
• Call your card company or bank right away to fix it. 
• When they turn your card back on, you can use Apple Pay again.

3 – You May Have Insufficient Funds

If you’ve made any recent purchases or transferred money to another account, double-check your current balance. 

It’s easy to lose track of your spending and not realize your funds are lower than expected. Make sure you have enough available cash in your account to cover the full Apple Pay transaction amount. 

This is because being just a few dollars short can still lead to a declined payment. So, it’s best to check your balance and add money if needed.

4 – You May Have Reached Your Balance Limit

For debit cards and checking accounts, most banks set daily limits on your spending and withdrawal amounts as a fraud prevention measure. 

If you make multiple Apple Pay purchases in a short period, you may exceed your set limit. 

This could cause further payments to be declined until the 24-hour limit resets, even if you technically have available funds. 

5 – POS Terminal/Device Does Not Support Apple Pay

While Apple Pay is widely accepted, if you are trying to use it at a small shop or with an older point-of-sale system, it may not fully support contactless payments. 

So, before you try to pay with your iPhone or Apple Watch, look for an Apple Pay logo near the checkout or ask the cashier if they accept mobile wallet payments. 

If the POS device is not configured for Apple Pay, your transaction will be declined.

7 Easy Solutions to Fix Your Apple Pay Declined Issue

Now that you know the possible reasons for your Apple Pay getting declined, let’s talk about troubleshooting steps to fix the issue and get your Apple Pay working again.

Solution #1 – Check Your Payment Information

If your Apple Pay got declined for some reason, the first thing you should immediately check is your payment information. 

Many times, we accidentally enter inaccurate or incorrect payment information such as card number, expiry date, etc. when in a hurry. This usually causes the Apple Pay payment to get declined.

Solution #2 – Verify Vendor Accepts Apple Pay

If you’re planning on using Apple Pay to make your purchase, confirm that the store, restaurant, or merchant accepts Apple Pay. 

You can usually find out by simply looking for the Apple Pay logo displayed near the register or checkout counter. And in case you can’t see the Apple Pay logo, simply ask the cashier if they accept contactless payments. 

If their point-of-sale device is not configured or supports Apple Pay, it will keep declining your transaction no matter how many times you try. So, ask the cashier and pay with an alternate method if they don’t accept Apple Pay.

Solution #3 – Try Using a Different Payment Method

If your card is working fine but the payment is still getting declined, it’s a good idea to try a different credit or debit card associated with your Apple Pay. Switching payment methods often does the trick.

However, if you don’t have a different card added to your Apple Pay, you can complete the payment normally with the physical card or pay cash while you get the Apple Pay issue fully resolved later on.

Solution #4 – Sign Out and Sign Back Into Your Apple ID

Another common fix to solve the Apple Pay declined issue is to sign out of your Apple ID on all your devices and then sign back in.

To elaborate, you should log out of your Apple ID from your iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Apple Watch, or any other Apple device you use. Once that’s done, log back into your Apple ID on every device one by one. Then, reopen the Apple Wallet app and re-add your credit/debit cards.

To sign out from the App Store on iPhone or iPad, follow these steps:

• Open the App Store.
• Tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
• Scroll to the bottom of the Account menu and tap Sign Out.

To sign back in, tap the Profile icon from the App Store and enter your Apple ID username and password.

Signing out and back in often resolves random glitches and gets Apple Pay working properly again.

Solution #5 – See (and Clear) If There Are Any Outstanding Payments

If signing out and back in doesn’t fix the issue, it may be because you may have outstanding or pending Apple Pay payments.

To check for pending or unfinished purchases, you need to check the App Store purchase history with these steps:

• Open the Settings app and tap your Apple ID name.
• Tap Media & Purchases and then View Account.
• Scroll down and tap Purchase History. You may need to sign in.

If you have unfinished or pending Apple Pay payments, it can temporarily disable your card from making further transactions until those go through. 

This can happen if previous payments failed due to poor cell service or weak WiFi. 

If this is the case, you need to ensure any outstanding payments are completed or canceled.

After clearing the outstanding payments, you should be able to make payments using Apple Pay again.

Solution #6 – Contact Your Bank or Credit Card Company

If you’ve tried all these solutions but your Apple Pay is still being declined, it may be time to reach out to your bank or credit card company’s customer service line.

Once you’re on the call with a customer representative, you need to explain to them that your Apple Pay has not been working and your payments keep getting declined. 

Your financial institution can look into your account history and recent transactions to try to pinpoint any potential problems. They may also be able to reset your card or remove any temporary blocks if needed to get Apple Pay functional again.

Solution #7 – Contact Apple Support

If your bank can’t find anything wrong on their end, you may need some extra help from the source – Apple. 

Contact Apple Support via phone, chat, email, or set up a Genius Bar appointment. Explain your Apple Pay issues and declined payments.

The Apple Support team can run diagnostics, reset your Apple Wallet data, and troubleshoot deeper issues that your financial institution may not have access to. 

They generally have more insight into the technical side of why Apple Pay might not be working properly.

What to Do If Apple Pay Declined but Card Works?

If your card does not work with Apple Pay but works in other places, it likely is not supported by Apple Pay. This means you cannot use that card with Apple Pay.

In this case, it’s best to check with your bank if your card is supported with Apple Pay. If it does not, you will need to use a different card in the app. This is because each bank has its own policy so you’ll have to check and confirm with your bank first.

On the other hand, if your bank says your card should work with Apple Pay, you might have the wrong card information in the Wallet app. 

So, open the Wallet app and tap on the card. Then, make sure all the information is right and change anything that is wrong.

Why is Apple Declining my Visa Card?

It does not matter what kind of card you have – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or any other. Your card can still be declined by Apple Pay. The reasons are the same as above.

If your Visa card does not work with Apple Pay, you cannot use it in the app even if it works in other places. You may also need to update your card information with your bank or with Apple.

So, the first thing you should do is call your bank anytime a card is declined. 

The reason is simple – Apple does not decline cards. Your bank does. So, you’ll have to contact the bank to fix the problem.

Apple Pay Declined But Still Got Charged – Here’s What to Do!

It is rare, but you may be charged even though the payment did not work. If this happens, call your bank right away. 

Apple Pay does not keep your money – it only sends money from your bank to whom you are paying. So, you must call your bank or card company to register your complaint right away. 

Most of the time, problems like this get fixed and you get your money back in 10-15 business days. Exactly how long it takes usually depends on your bank and the card type. 

Final Note

There you have it – 7 simple and easy solutions to try when your Apple Pay payment is getting declined.

With this simple checklist, you can quickly diagnose what’s causing the declined Apple Pay and get back to seamlessly paying from your iPhone or Apple Watch in no time. 

FAQs