Apple Promotes New Apple Pay UK Bank Account Balance Feature

[MacRumors]

Apple today highlighted the ability in iOS 17.1 for UK users to connect their credit and debit cards in Apple Wallet and easily access information like account balance, spending history, and more.

Users can view their up-to-date bank card balance, payments, deposits, and withdrawals in Wallet and when they're checking out with Apple Pay online or in-apps. Apple says the new feature "empowers users to make more informed purchases, increases their confidence when making a transaction, and allows them to simply view frequent information so that they have more control when it comes to their finances."

From Apple's press release:

"By enabling users to conveniently access their most useful account information within Wallet and at the time of their purchase, they can make informed financial decisions and better understand and manage their spend," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We look forward to working with U.K. partners under the Open Banking initiative to help users better their financial health, and provide more ways in which banks can deepen their relationships with customers."

Apple added the transaction and card balance functionality to the Wallet app in October's iOS 17.1 update as part of its Connected Cards feature, and several banks have since come on board, including Barclays, Barclaycard, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, M&S Bank, Monzo Bank, NatWest Bank, and Royal Bank of Scotland.

• How to View UK Bank Account Balance in Apple Wallet

UK banks support the Open Banking API to integrate with the Wallet app, which has made the feature widely available to UK users, while the Connected Cards rollout in the United States has lagged behind.

Article Link: Apple Promotes New Apple Pay UK Bank Account Balance Feature

 

[arkitect]

Starling still missing…
Curious what is keeping them from getting it done.

 

[DunedinD]

Saw that it wants to share detailed transaction info for my whole account. That’ll be a “no” then, and I’ll continue to open my bank’s own app from the Home screen.

 

[pauloregan]

Don’t be too upset if you can’t have this. Giving third parties access to your bank account details over something so trivial isn’t the wisest thing to do.

 

[jamdex]

Not in a rush to enable this..

 

[rodpascoe]

Such a shame that Starling enabled this and then pulled it within a week or two, I found it really handy.

 

[eNJayBe]

I’m really wary of Open Banking.

According to Lloyds Bank, none of the protection for fraud applies to Open Banking transactions.

 

[Donfor39]

I'm not sure how this can be an Advantage, I enjoy Apple Pay etc.
If my u.k. Bank Didn't offer their own built App, then maybe Wallet could help.
Honestly not sure of the need of More 'Duplicate' features Apps.
Maybe 'The Everything App' will Astound' me

 

[PegasusTenma]

I'm not sure how this can be an Advantage, I enjoy Apple Pay etc.
If my u.k. Bank Didn't offer their own built App, then maybe Wallet could help.
Honestly not sure of the need of More 'Duplicate' features Apps.
Maybe 'The Everything App' will Astound' me

I have had it for a few weeks now with Lloyds bank. I actually find it super useful because accessing my banking app is a bit of a hassle, it takes time and it likes to show me inbox messages before letting me in.

With this wallet feature I can see immediately my balance and my transactions. I think is really really good.

 

[Englishmike2]

I’m really wary of Open Banking.

According to Lloyds Bank, none of the protection for fraud applies to Open Banking

Don’t be too upset if you can’t have this. Giving third parties access to your bank account details over something so trivial isn’t the wisest thing to do.

Don’t be too upset if you can’t have this. Giving third parties access to your bank account details over something so trivial isn’t the wisest thing to do.

Doesn't work like that, you don’t understand the Open Banking system.

 

[EmotionalSnow]

I'd kill for this to work in my country. Especially since I have prepaid cards that my employer deposits money every month into that solely work for groceries and restaurants. It's kinda annoying having to check the balance before paying for something.

 

[Godspeed8230]

My bank (Austria) offers a widget showing me my current account balance. It's the next best thing.

 

[zombierunner]

No thanks.

 

[Godspeed8230]

That's a bit offtopic but I can't wait for the day when Instant Payments will be the standard across all banks and countries and transactions will be processed in real time. Some banks here in Europe offer SEPA Instant Payments and it is a game changer.

 

[boston04and07]

Can’t wait for this to become more widespread in the US. It’d be great to be able to quickly check balances before paying at the register in stores.

 

[aperantos]

I'm not sure how this can be an Advantage, I enjoy Apple Pay etc.
If my u.k. Bank Didn't offer their own built App, then maybe Wallet could help.
Honestly not sure of the need of More 'Duplicate' features Apps.
Maybe 'The Everything App' will Astound' me

If you all your banking is with the same bank then it has little benefit. But the benefit of open banking is that if you have a current account with bank A, and a household joint account with bank B, and a credit card with bank C etc. then you can see everything in one place rather than having to check multiple places.

Various financial institutions offer this sort of service, and have to be approved this is just Apple joining them. If someone regularly uses Apple Pay then I dare say there is a benefit in using Apple's wallet as their preferred aggregation source, or maybe they just prefer the Apple interface over something like Virgin Money, or their own bank's app.

Maybe Apple will eventually use this open banking so it can offer a version of Apple Pay that will be able to choose which card to charge a payment based on balance etc. or offer features like moving money to savings accounts based on balance and spending for the month etc.

There is is some advantage to it and a lot of potential for it to have many more. Though as I understand it at this point it only shows balances, but I do not know because my main bank is not supported so I can only use it with one credit card. Though with that, to just see a list of transitions it is a lot easier to do in the Wallet app than the bank's own app.

 

[benjamieson]

I’m really wary of Open Banking.

According to Lloyds Bank, none of the protection for fraud applies to Open Banking transactions.

Don't be to wary. It's merely a 'view', or window, if you like.

Open Banking connections can't make transactions, only pull in details of existing transactions and balances,

That's what it's for.

It's how all the credit agencies work in the UK, and in my case makes my accounting far easier by allowing me to tie my company accounts to my bank accounts (Quickbooks).

 

[Diopter]

Since Apple seems to have a good relationship with American Express (being one of the few cards that can populate Wallet with the details of transactions that were done outside of Apple Pay), I wonder if they might eventually work with them to implement support for showing Amex card balances/available credit.

 

[MadCar]

I’m really wary of Open Banking.

According to Lloyds Bank, none of the protection for fraud applies to Open Banking transactions.

This is true - no protection for Open Banking Payments

 

[aperantos]

This is true - no protection for Open Banking Payments

Which bank?

As with everything else governed by the EUs Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2), which has was adopted into UK law a part of the Brexit transition, open banking requires Secure Customer Authentication for every Third-Party Payment transaction. The only exceptions are VRPs, and those are currently only mandated for sweeping.

Which is to say that you should need to go into your bank's app to authorize any payment made through another app or service with the only exception being when transferring money between different accounts you personally own.

It is expected Virtual Recurring Payments will replace both direct debits and having services save your card details for taking payments. But even then you will still need you to first set up the mandate, which requires SCA, so it is similar to direct debits but with more security, flexibility, and control. The result is any businesses, services, and apps you allow to initiate payments only need a token rather than account details, making it more secure, and you can cancel the token at any time.

With VRPs the responsibility for authentication is delegated to the third party Payment Initiation Service Provider. So you will not need to switch apps to approve transactions that are with your chosen limits. But any such service has to be regulated by the FCA and you can claim fraudulent payments be refunded.

So in this way it is no different to using Apple Pay, where you do not have to approve payments through your bank's app as Apple takes on the authentication responsibility. Which is why it requires a biometric or passcode approval for payments, other than public transport Express Mode

As authentication is delegated with VRPs, not removed, the open banking providers need to provide their own authentication as part of the PSD2 regulations. Which as they will otherwise be liable in cases of fraud they will obviously want to put their own measures in place anyway.

 

[jimthing]

Though as I understand it at this point it only shows balances,

No, it shows different things depending on the bank and whether its a bank ac or cc:

bank ac's can show:
- available balance
- latest transactions (some banks show up to last 3 years, broken-down into years then months)

cc's can show:
- balance
- available credit
- latest transactions (again, some banks show up to last 3 years, broken-down into years then months)
___________________

Tip:

Another tip for those who manage ac's/cc's for a loved one [under things like POA's (Power of Attorney's)] like I do...

One of my cc's is the same bank as the her bank ac I deal with, so using the same bank's app to do the security can be problematic for this Open Banking feature in Apple Wallet, because typically you can only have a bank's app setup for one user at a time.

My solution to show both yours and the other person's ac/cc you also manage is this:

1. setup the bank's app to use the other person's bank ac/cc.
2. from Apple Wallet, setup the security authorisation for this Open Banking feature.
3. delete the app & reinstall it.
4. then set the bank's app to your own bank ac/cc (can then continue using the app for your own needs, obviously).

The only thing I'm not sure on is how long these security authorisations last each time – maybe 3-mthly, but then auto-renews by itself, or you may have to do the same rigmarole every 3-months??

Also, to access and transact for the other person's ac/cc, you still have the same issues of having to use a browser to login to online banking for said ac/cc, rather than the bank's app (as the app is obviously setup with your own bank ac/cc).

 

[svish]

Good to see this. Still waiting for Apple to launch Apple Pay in my country

 

[Donfor39]

Slowly appreciating Sony PS 5 Network is erradicating Amex Allowance -that's only MW11.

 

[MadCar]

Which bank?

As with everything else governed by the EUs Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2), which has was adopted into UK law a part of the Brexit transition, open banking requires Secure Customer Authentication for every Third-Party Payment transaction. The only exceptions are VRPs, and those are currently only mandated for sweeping.

Which is to say that you should need to go into your bank's app to authorize any payment made through another app or service with the only exception being when transferring money between different accounts you personally own.

It is expected Virtual Recurring Payments will replace both direct debits and having services save your card details for taking payments. But even then you will still need you to first set up the mandate, which requires SCA, so it is similar to direct debits but with more security, flexibility, and control. The result is any businesses, services, and apps you allow to initiate payments only need a token rather than account details, making it more secure, and you can cancel the token at any time.

With VRPs the responsibility for authentication is delegated to the third party Payment Initiation Service Provider. So you will not need to switch apps to approve transactions that are with your chosen limits. But any such service has to be regulated by the FCA and you can claim fraudulent payments be refunded.

So in this way it is no different to using Apple Pay, where you do not have to approve payments through your bank's app as Apple takes on the authentication responsibility. Which is why it requires a biometric or passcode approval for payments, other than public transport Express Mode

As authentication is delegated with VRPs, not removed, the open banking providers need to provide their own authentication as part of the PSD2 regulations. Which as they will otherwise be liable in cases of fraud they will obviously want to put their own measures in place anyway.

It's a lot of words but you are missing the point completely.

If I make a payment to a company for goods and the company fails before I get them is that payment protected, will I get my money back, NO. If I do the same with a Credit Card for a purchase over £100 is it, Yes, if I do the same with a Debit card, most likely.

Throwing talk about SCA and Fraud is missing the point, is there far less protection in an OB payment, absolutely.

As for DD vs VRP, same again, one has a DD guarantee that protects all parties in the chain, VRPs protects and offers wait for it, ah yes little by comparison.

 

[Alpa1721]

This thread hasn't been updated in a while, but just as a gesture of kindness towards those who land here via a search engine: everything you've just read here about Open Banking and fraud is the result of a misunderstanding and has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with this particular usage of Open Banking by Apple.