Apple Pay Apple Wallet Confusion

[Buadhai]

I have a Capital One credit card that has been in my Wallet for some time. It is verified and useable:

Yesterday I upgraded my MBA to Tahoe and immediate got a message that my card needs verification:

But, when I try to verify it says "no verification method available".

So, what's going on here?

 

[Apple_Robert]

The logical thing to do is to contact Capital One and see what they say.

 

[Buadhai]

That wouldn’t be any fun at all.

 

[Buadhai]

Actually, the logical way to look at this is: Since the error only occurs on one of my several devices and only on a device on which the OS was upgraded just before the error appeared it is reasonable to assume that the error was a result of the OS upgrade and probably not something Capital One customer service reps are prepared to deal with.

Next step is to publish publicly, here and elsewhere, to see if anyone else has experienced the problem. If so, it's probably a new OS bug that Apple will (maybe) get around to fixing. If not, then the problem is unique to me and, absent suggestions from the public, I'll have to deal with Apple support.

Another next step is to forget about it because it doesn't seem to affect my ability to use Apple Wallet or Apple Pay. That's the direction in which I'm currently leaning.

 

[Buadhai]

Found this on Reddit:

UPDATE: called Capital One and they were impressively unhelpful. The rep seemed to know exactly what I was calling about as I started explaining it.

Her: "yep, you're getting the error because you need to verify using the mobile app, and since you're adding the card to a computer, there is no mobile app on the machine so it gives that error."

Me: "...okay but I've added this same card on this same computer in the past and didn't have that

Her: "yep, you used to be able to verify using a phone number or email, but they changed it to require the mobile app"

Me: "so there's no other way to add this card?"

Her: "No, only on mobile devices."

Me: "are there plans to change this so users can add their cards to a mac apple wallet?"

Her: "not that I'm aware of "

So yeah this doesn't seem to be a bug. It's an intentional change on Cap1's part and doesn't look like it'll be fixed anytime soon. Wild decision by Cap1.

Of course, since the card is already verified on the mobile app on my iPhone, there's nothing to do but leave the card unverified on my MBA.

Amazing.

 

[chabig]

Of course, since the card is already verified on the mobile app on my iPhone, there's nothing to do but leave the card unverified on my MBA.

Delete it. There isn't any reason to keep a non-working card in the Wallet app.

 

[Buadhai]

Delete it. There isn't any reason to keep a non-working card in

It works in the Wallet app on my iPhone. I can set it as the default card.

 

[chabig]

Sure. But there is no reason to keep the card on your Mac. They aren’t connected to each other in any way. Deleting it from the Mac doesn’t affect the card on your phone.

 

[Buadhai]

I’ll think about it. I just read this:

"…deleting a card from Apple Wallet on your Mac also deletes it from your other Apple devices logged into the same Apple ID, and vice-versa. This is because Apple Pay cards are synced across your devices when you are logged in with the same Apple ID, so removing a card on one device removes it from your entire Apple ecosystem"

 

[BigBlur]

I’ll think about it. I just read this:

"…deleting a card from Apple Wallet on your Mac also deletes it from your other Apple devices logged into the same Apple ID, and vice-versa. This is because Apple Pay cards are synced across your devices when you are logged in with the same Apple ID, so removing a card on one device removes it from your entire Apple ecosystem"

Where did you read that, AI? That is false. Apple Pay cards are not synced across devices. Deleting it from your Mac will not delete it from your iPhone.

It's a common issue with Capital One cards. Supposedly you need to verify using their mobile app, which isn’t available on the Mac.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWallet/comments/1fzaf7f/no_verification_method_available_error_after

 

[Buadhai]

Where did you read that, AI? That is false. Apple Pay cards are not synced across devices. Deleting it from your Mac will not delete it from your iPhone.

Of course it's false. Just another misleading Google AI summary. It was fun to read and react though, wasn't it?

On the very same search results page was an Apple article with the correct information.

Still, before I delete the card there are two things I'd like to know:

• What is the status of this card on my Intel iMac still running Sequoia? I'm away from home now so won't be able to check that for a few days.

• This card has been a verified part of my iOS Apple Wallets for years. Why did I only start to get notices about it needing verification on my MBA after I installed Tahoe? To be honest, I don't recall ever adding cards to the Apple Wallet on this MBA. I leave the MBA at my condo which I visit only a few days a month and never use the Apple Wallet to make purchases. If cards are not synced between devices then how did they get on this MBA?

 

[Buadhai]

I'm home now and have had a chance to check my old Intel iMac and my 15" MBA.

First, let me note that I spend most of my time in Thailand, although I have a home in Portland, Oregon. So, I have had very little exposure to either Apple Pay (not available here) or Apple Wallet. Until a few days ago I had no idea you could add cards to a wallet on a Mac. I thought it was just an iPhone/Apple Watch thing. I only found out about Wallet on Mac when I got the unexpected notice on my 13" MBA that the Capital One card needed verification.

On my iMac, all cards say "removed by issuer". Since I have no recollection of adding any cards to the iMac, I have no idea what's going on.

On the 15" MBA the Capital Once card is noted as needing verification. One other card says "removed by issuer" and the other three cards seem to be useable; not that I will ever use them unless I am in the US.

So, I remain baffled.

• How did all these cards get into a wallet on my three Macs?
• Why did all the issuers remove the cards on my iMac but not the other two Macs?
• Why did I only get notified recently that the Cap One card needed verification?

I suppose it doesn't matter much since I rarely use any of this.

I should add that the complexity of all this is somewhat confusing to me. Thailand has a very nice payment system called Prompt Pay which is a bank-to-bank transfer system that is fast (within seconds), has no fees for vendor or buyer, and is quite secure. Payment is usually by scanning a QR code, although other methods are available.

Small vendors usually have a generic QR code on display. To pay, you scan it, enter the amount and confirm the payment. Within seconds the money has been transferred from your account to the vendor's account. In the case of a coffee shop that I frequent the proprietor's phone rings an alert and announces the amount of payment received (in Thai): samsip ha baht ka (35 baht). That way the vendor doesn't have to check their phone to verify the deposit.

Larger vendors might have a payment terminal that generates a QR code that includes the payment amount in which case you just scan and confirm.

Note that in no case is any plastic required or card numbers or expiration dates or CVV codes.

I should also note that some (but very few) establishments have NFC enabled payment terminals most of which do work with Apple Wallet. It doesn't make much sense though to make payments with a US dollar credit card as the exchange rate is not very favorable. (The Apple Card is probably the best.)

That's all folks. I bet no one made it all the way down here.

 

[BigBlur]

• How did all these cards get into a wallet on my three Macs?

Your cards are partially synced to your Apple ID. During set up of a new device, you're asked if you want to add the cards you have added previously on your other devices. Or when adding a new card, it'll suggest cards you have added elsewhere. You must have done either of these at one point. Cards do not get added to Apple Pay automatically.

• Why did all the issuers remove the cards on my iMac but not the other two Macs?

Has anything changed on that Mac around security? Did you disable SIP? Sign out of your iCloud account? Disable Touch ID?

• Why did I only get notified recently that the Cap One card needed verification?

According to the reddit post linked earlier, Capital One changed their verification method. Capital One card holders used to be able to verify by phone number, but that no longer works and need to verify through the mobile app on the device.

 

[Buadhai]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

So, the Apple Wallet cards are partially synced. Got that.

As for the iMac I don't do much with it because I use an MBA instead. I've never disabled SIP or logged out of my iCloud account.

As for the Cap One card. I'm curious as to why I got notified that I needed to verify it only on the 13" MBA but not on the 15" MBA. Did Cap One change their policy within the past month or so? The card is noted as needing verification on Settings on the 15" MBA but I never received notice of it as I did on the 13" MBA.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm in Thailand where the payment system seems much simpler and more secure.