Reports of problems with Apple’s digital payment services surged Friday afternoon, with users telling outage-tracking platform Downdetector they were unable to complete transactions or transfer funds through Apple’s Wallet ecosystem.
Just before 6 p.m. ET, nearly 1,400 incidents had been logged on Downdetector’s Apple Pay page. The platform’s data indicated that payment issues and funds-transfer problems accounted for most of the complaints. By 7 p.m., the number of reports were still above 1,100. By 10:26 p.m. ET the reported numbers went down to 455.
Downdetector’s data suggested the disruption was concentrated around money transfers rather than purchases. The platform reported that 57 percent of complaints involved fund transfers, compared with 25 percent related to payments and 13 percent tied to the app itself.
When reached for comment via email, an Apple spokesperson directed Newsweek to the company’s system status page, which said some users were experiencing issues with Apple Cash beginning at 4:19 p.m. “Some users are affected. Some users may experience issues with Apple Cash at this time,” the notice said.
Apple Pay allows users to make contactless purchases and online payments using iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac devices. Apple Cash is Apple’s peer-to-peer payment service, allowing users to send and receive money through Messages and Wallet. While Apple Cash balances can be used through Apple Pay, the two services operate separately and can experience different technical issues.
StatusGator, which tracks service disruptions across major online platforms, also recorded a spike in reports related to Apple Cash beginning around 4:40 p.m. ET.
An X account, MiggiTheJeweler, wrote on X, “Coincidentally Apple Cash stopped magically working, and my $5K transaction is nowhere to be found?!”
Friday’s outage is not without precedent. Apple Pay and related Wallet services have experienced intermittent disruptions in the past, with users occasionally reporting issues from failed transactions and Apple Cash transfer problems to difficulties accessing Wallet features. While most outages are resolved relatively quickly, the glitches can temporarily leave users unable to complete purchases or send funds through Apple’s payment ecosystem.
Apple has not disclosed how many people use Apple Cash, but Apple Pay—the company’s broader digital wallet platform—is used by tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people worldwide, according to third-party estimates.
What Is the ‘Unable to Connect to Wallet Services’ Error?
Many users affected by the disruption reported seeing an “Unable to Connect to Wallet Services” error message when attempting to access Apple Wallet or complete transactions. The message generally indicates that the Wallet app is unable to communicate with Apple’s back-end systems, preventing users from adding cards, verifying payment methods or processing purchases.
What Should Users Do?
Users experiencing issues may want to avoid sending duplicate transactions while the outage is ongoing and should check Apple’s System Status page for updates. Customers can also review their transaction history in Wallet and contact Apple Support if a transfer remains incomplete after service is restored.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant, Edward T. Cummins and Anna Commander.
