Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

tbonewilly

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 9, 2008
15
2
Mission Viejo, CA
Does anybody consistently leave their iPhone and wallet at home and only carry/use their Apple Watch3 LTE and Apple Pay to make purchases? I just bought the watch and made my first purchase with Apple Pay. I carry my iPhone6 in an Otterbox Commuter wallet case with my ID, ATM card and a $20 bill, but I want to just have my watch and leave everything else at home. Is this really feasible?
 
What would you do with your ID? I don't know that I'm 100% comfortable leaving my wallet behind (I carry mostly cash) but I love the idea. My biggest concern would be losing my ID. I suppose I could keep that tucked away in the (sort of) hidden compartment under my steering wheel. I've been leaving my phone behind and it's been very freeing.
 
I have not had to use/show my ID for anything in probably the last 3 or 4 years. I guess if I was injured or dead, it would be useful to keep on me. How often does a person use their ID in these times?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cryates
I have not had to use/show my ID for anything in probably the last 3 or 4 years. I guess if I was injured or dead, it would be useful to keep on me. How often does a person use their ID in these times?
Hmmm good point. I have to show it in a few places I go to here and there. Maybe once a month on average? I guess I’m conditioned to thinking it’s necessary but your point is valid.
 
It depends on how well Apple Pay is accepted where you live. It's definitely gaining traction around where I live, but it's not widely accepted enough for me to leave my wallet at home. I still carry the wallet, but I do try to use Apple Pay whenever I can, figuring that the more people that use it, the quicker it will be adopted at even more stores.
 
How often does a person use their ID in these times?

Um, all the time, at least for me. I have shown my ID probably 20 times in the past week, although that is probably much more than most people.

At a minimum, people should have ID for driving. Do you only use public transportation?

What about at banks? Doctor offices? Government buildings?
 
I have not had to use/show my ID for anything in probably the last 3 or 4 years. I guess if I was injured or dead, it would be useful to keep on me. How often does a person use their ID in these times?
It may be hard to buy beer with no ID but less so with cigarettes.
 
Even in Canada where an overwhelming majority of places accept NFC, you still need a physical CC for places where the purchase exceeds the allowed tap amount. Plus DL and OHIP card.
 
Echo what others have said, not yet there re: going walletless.

I'm old, so don't get carded these day, but every now and then, it does happen. Not been pulled over in years, but, don't want to risk not having id if it does happen. Went to a play recently, needed to provide ID at will call to pick up ticket. Town's Rec Center requires ID to get membership card.

Most dining places I go do not do Apple Pay. About half of the retail places I go do not take Apple Pay.

ATM requires a physical card.

Cash is still king in many transactions.

And probably more examples that don't immediately come to mind.

Would love to go walletless, just not there yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dj64Mk7
Um, all the time, at least for me. I have shown my ID probably 20 times in the past week, although that is probably much more than most people.

At a minimum, people should have ID for driving. Do you only use public transportation?

What about at banks? Doctor offices? Government buildings?

I don’t smoke and rarely have a beer, so I don’t get carded for that. My bank has my ID stored on file, so on those rare occasions I need to go into a brach, my ID pulls up on screen when I give my account number. I drive every day and have not been pulled over for close to ten years. I guess I could keep my drivers license in the car or if legal a copy of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cryates
I don’t smoke and rarely have a beer, so I don’t get carded for that. My bank has my ID stored on file, so on those rare occasions I need to go into a brach, my ID pulls up on screen when I give my account number. I drive every day and have not been pulled over for close to ten years. I guess I could keep my drivers license in the car or if legal a copy of it.
1) Probably not the safest idea to keep your DL in the car, in case it’s stolen or broken into. But that’s still an option

2) I guess if you never need an ID for bank, alcohol, or to get into certain establishments with age restrictions, then that’s your own personal judgement (I actually need mine daily for work, so not really an option for me)

3) For me, it’s still extremely rare that a place takes Apple Pay. I certainly don’t need to buy things every day, but I would like to be able to go any where on any given day without having to run home to grab my wallet. But if vast majority of the places you frequent have Apple Pay, and you are fine having to work around having your wallet for any other rare occasions, then ok

4) Aside from any particularly short trips or trips that I want to be intentional about not being distracted, I couldn’t imagine wanting to leave my iphone at home. It just makes things easier.

I guess for me it just comes down to the fact that I would bring my wallet and phone for every trip simply because I don’t want to have to think every time about “do I need them for this trip?” And I don’t wanna run into “oh shoot, I wish I’d had my wallet or phone for XXX”. Just one less thing to think/worry about.
 
Probably not the safest idea to keep your DL in the car, in case it’s stolen or broken into. But that’s still an option
And if you have multiple cars, that wouldn't work either. Well, at least in my state where you are only allowed one active state ID.

I actually need mine daily for work, so not really an option for me
Me too, so not carrying an ID would never work for me. I would much rather forget my iPhone than my wallet when I go out somewhere.

But even if I didn't need it for work, the idea of not carrying ID with me wouldn't even cross my mind.
 
Even places that take Apple Pay (and there are plenty in my small town), the terminal sometimes balks and will not accept it, either with the watch or phone (Safeway take note). The next day I can go to the same terminal and it works, so go figure. I always carry a slim wallet with 1 CC and a few other ID essentials.
 
I had a case, when after paying for petrol the amount of ca 100$ the next transaction was not accepted with comment that I have to wait some more minutes before i will be able to pay with watch again. I had to use CC instead. Maybe there is a certain time interval required between transactions?
 
For emergencies, Health ID on your phone and watch would suffice but physical ID card is still king.

I do agree that the place where you live in has a robust cashless payment system like in Sydney or Hong Kong to be able to comfortably live without a wallet.
 
I stopped carrying a wallet in 2016 when Apple Pay came to my bank, and since then it hasn't failed once with what would be well over a 1000 purchases since then. . So yes, I leave my phone at home, or in the car or office all the time now.
Don't need to carry ID in my country.
 
I usually still take my wallet around as there are still stores here in the U.K. which haven't yet moved over to contactless.. I'm looking at you Next and Homebase!!
 
I'd be curious to know, from these responses, where people are located. For me (Pittsburgh), it's tough. I have a case that can hold a card or two and I almost never use cash, so theoretically I could ditch the wallet and just carry my phone, with my ID and a CC stored in it. But ApplePay is only starting to take off here. I'd say 50% of the places I frequent use it. Perfect example is there is a strip mall near me with a Giant Eagle (grocery), a Target, and a Lowes all next to each other. The Giant Eagle requires you to scan your physical Giant Eagle card before going through the self checkout, so I'd have to carry that. but it accepts ApplePay. Target does not accept ApplePay. Lowes will scan your Lowes Card app on the phone, but does not support ApplePay. So if I want to run errands at those three stores at minimum I need my CC, my GE card, and my phone. Plus my drivers license, since you are required to have it on you when you drive.

What do people do about restaurants? I have yet to see a traditional restaurant, with a "bring the bill to your table" setup, support ApplePay. I'm going to guess that's different in the Silicon Valley area.
 
Does anybody consistently leave their iPhone and wallet at home and only carry/use their Apple Watch3 LTE and Apple Pay to make purchases? I just bought the watch and made my first purchase with Apple Pay. I carry my iPhone6 in an Otterbox Commuter wallet case with my ID, ATM card and a $20 bill, but I want to just have my watch and leave everything else at home. Is this really feasible?

No I don’t because many places do not accept Apple Pay.
 
I rum my company from my X and there is no way an Apple watch could cope with a day or work, not even a half day. I bought the cellular Black stainless but only tried the cellular for a few weeks and cancelled. The watch speaker is useless in a noisy environment and refuse to wear my AirPods all day long.
 
The Giant Eagle requires you to scan your physical Giant Eagle card before going through the self checkout, so I'd have to carry that. but it accepts ApplePay.

Actually, you can just type your GE card number using the keypad & it will recognize it. I do this all the time. (It doesn't work at the Get Go's though.

I use Stocard to store all my loyalty cards (because they have a watch app) & I can just type it in off of there if I go through self checkout.
 
I've tried doing only Apple Pay on my trips around my town, but some places where I shop (notably CVS and Home Depot) don't take Apple Pay.

ATM requires a physical card.

Actually, if the ATM has a contactless reader and you've added your ATM card to Apple Wallet, you can use your phone in place of your card. Just pull up the card you need from Apple Wallet, hold the top of the phone near the reader, and activate Touch ID or Face ID. The ATM will behave as if you inserted your card and ask you for your PIN. Once you enter that, you can do your transactions.
 
I bought the cellular Black stainless but only tried the cellular for a few weeks and cancelled. The watch speaker is useless in a noisy environment and refuse to wear my AirPods all day long.
Weird as it may sound, I don't think the LTE watch benefits people who do a lot of talk time. It's a big battery drainer and fumbling with the AirPods when receiving a call is not good. I have the same model and personally, I love it because I do 99% of my communication via text. I can stay plugged in (to texts, e-mails, weather updates, notifications) without having to fumble with AirPods or a mediocre speaker. The rare times I do make a call though, I'll pop the AirPods in first.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.