Adding transit and eMoney cards to Apple Wallet
In many global markets, users can add supported transit and eMoney cards to Apple Wallet on supported models of iPhone and Apple Watch. Depending on the operator, this may be done by transferring the value or commuter pass (or both) from a physical card into its digital Apple Wallet representation, or by provisioning a new transit or eMoney card from Apple Wallet or the card issuer’s app. After transit cards are added to Apple Wallet, users can ride transit simply by holding their iPhone or Apple Watch near the transit reader. Some transit cards can also be used to make payments.
How transit and eMoney cards work
Added transit and eMoney cards are associated with a user’s iCloud account. If the user adds more than one card to Apple Wallet, Apple or the card issuer may be able to link the user’s personal information and the associated account information between cards. Transit and eMoney cards and transactions are protected by a set of hierarchical cryptographic keys.
During the process of transferring the balance from a physical card to Apple Wallet, users are required to enter card-specific information. Users may also need to provide personal information for proof of card possession. When transferring passes from iPhone to Apple Watch, both devices must be online.
The balance can be recharged with funds from credit, debit, and prepaid cards through Apple Wallet or from the transit or eMoney card issuer’s app. To understand the security of reloading the balance when using Apple Pay, see Paying with cards within apps. To learn how the card is provisioned from within the card issuer’s app, see Adding credit or debit cards from a card issuer’s app.
If provisioning from a physical card is supported, the transit or eMoney card issuer has the cryptographic keys needed to authenticate the physical card and verify the user’s entered data. After the data is verified, the system can create a Device Account Number for the Secure Element and activate the newly added pass in Apple Wallet with the transferred balance. For some cards, after provisioning from the physical card is complete, the physical card is disabled.
At the end of either type of provisioning, if the card balance is stored on the device, it’s encrypted and stored to a designated applet in the Secure Element. The operator has the keys to perform cryptographic operations on the card data for balance transactions.
By default, transit card users benefit from the seamless Express Transit experience that allows them to pay and ride without requiring Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. Information such as recently visited stations, transaction history, and additional tickets may be accessed by any nearby contactless card reader with Express Mode enabled. Users can turn on the Face ID, Touch ID, or the passcode authorization requirement in the Wallet & Apple Pay settings by disabling Express Transit. Express Mode isn’t supported for eMoney cards.
As with other Apple Pay cards, users can suspend or remove eMoney cards by:
Erasing the device remotely with Find My
Enabling Lost Mode with Find My
Entering a mobile device management (MDM) remote wipe command
Removing all cards from their Apple ID account page
Removing all cards from iCloud.com
Removing all cards from Apple Wallet
Removing the card in the issuer’s app
Apple Pay servers notify the card operator to suspend or disable those cards. If a user removes a transit or eMoney card from an online device, the balance can be recovered by adding it back to a device signed in with the same Apple ID. If a device is offline, powered off, or unusable, recovery may not be possible.
Adding transit and eMoney cards to a family member’s Apple Watch
In iOS 15 or later, and watchOS 8, or later, the organizer of an iCloud family can add transit and eMoney cards to their family members’ Apple Watch devices through their iPhone’s Watch app. When provisioning one of these cards to a family member’s Apple Watch, the watch is required to be nearby and connected to the organizer’s iPhone using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Family members are required to have two-factor authentication enabled for their Apple ID for this to occur.
Family members can send a request to add money to a transit or eMoney card from their Apple Watch using iMessage. The content of the message is protected by end-to-end encryption, as described in iMessage security overview. Adding money to a card on a family member’s Apple Watch can be done remotely using a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. Proximity isn’t required.
Note: This feature may not be available in all countries or regions.
Credit and debit cards
In some cities, transit readers accept EMV (smart) cards to pay for transit rides. When users present an EMV credit or debit card to those readers, user authentication is required, just as with “Pay with credit and debit cards in the stores.”
In iOS 12.3 or later, some existing EMV credit/debit cards in Apple Wallet can be enabled for Express Transit. Express Transit lets users pay for a trip at supported transit operators without requiring Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. When a user provisions an EMV credit or debit card, the first card provisioned to Apple Wallet is enabled for Express Transit. The user can tap the More button on the front of the card in Apple Wallet and disable Express Transit for that card by setting Express Transit Settings to None. The user can also select a different credit or debit card as their Express Transit card using Apple Wallet. Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode is required to reenable or select a different card for Express Transit.
Apple Card and Apple Cash are eligible for Express Transit.