How to Turn Off Apple Pay and Remove Payment Methods

How to disable Apple Pay on your device

To turn off Apple Pay entirely, you stop it at the device level—not through a separate app or website. On an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you go into Settings, find Wallet & Apple Pay, and toggle the feature off. This removes Apple Pay from your lock screen and anywhere else it appears on that device. If you use multiple Apple devices, you have to turn it off on each one separately; turning it off on your iPhone does not affect your iPad or watch.

The steps differ slightly by device type. On iPhone and iPad, open Settings, tap Wallet & Apple Pay, then toggle off the switch at the top. On Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your paired iPhone, go to Wallet & Apple Pay, and toggle it off there. Once disabled, you cannot use Apple Pay on that device until you turn it back on.

Key Takeaways

• Turning off Apple Pay happens in Settings on each device—iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch each have their own toggle that you control separately.
• Disabling Apple Pay does not delete your card information; it only stops the payment method from working on that device.
• If you want to remove a specific card instead of turning off Apple Pay entirely, you can delete individual cards from Wallet without disabling the whole feature.
• Your card issuer (your bank or credit card company) does not need to know you turned off Apple Pay; the change happens only on your device.
• If you re-enable Apple Pay later, your saved cards will still be there unless you deleted them.

Removing individual cards from Apple Pay

You do not have to turn off Apple Pay to stop using a specific card. Instead, you can remove just that card from your Wallet. Open Wallet on your iPhone, tap the card you want to remove, tap the three dots or information icon, scroll down, and select Delete. The card disappears from Apple Pay, but Apple Pay itself stays on and ready to use with any other cards you have saved.

This approach is useful if you want to stop using one card—say, a credit card you are closing or a debit card you replaced—but still use Apple Pay with another card. You can add the card back later if you change your mind.

What happens to your card information when you turn off Apple Pay

When you disable Apple Pay, your card details stay stored on your device in an encrypted form. Apple does not delete the information just because you turned off the feature. If you turn Apple Pay back on, your cards will still be there and ready to use. The cards are not sent anywhere or shared with Apple; they live only on your device.

If you want to erase your card information completely—not just disable Apple Pay—you would need to delete each card individually from Wallet, or perform a factory reset of your device. Simply turning off Apple Pay is not the same as removing your payment methods.

Stopping Apple Pay transactions on a lost or stolen device

If your iPhone or Apple Watch is lost or stolen, turning off Apple Pay through Settings is no longer an option because you do not have the device. Instead, use Find My iPhone (or Find My for Apple Watch) to remotely disable Apple Pay. Sign into iCloud.com, open Find My, select the device, and choose Erase This Device. This wipes the device and disables Apple Pay on it, even if you cannot physically access it.

You can also contact your card issuer directly and ask them to deactivate the card itself. This stops the card from working anywhere—not just in Apple Pay—and is often faster than waiting for a remote erase to complete. Your bank or credit card company can do this over the phone in minutes.

Controlling which cards appear in Apple Pay

Apple Pay lets you set a default card—the one that appears first and charges automatically unless you choose a different one. To change your default, open Wallet, tap the three dots on any card, and select Make This My Default Card. You can also reorder your cards by holding and dragging them in Wallet, so the card you use most often appears at the top.

If you want to prevent a card from being used without your permission, you can require Face ID or Touch ID before each transaction. Open Wallet, tap a card, tap the three dots, and look for transaction settings. The exact option name varies by iOS version, but the goal is the same: make sure you have to authenticate before the card charges.

Turning off Apple Pay for online shopping and apps

Apple Pay works in three places: at physical stores (contactless payment at the register), in apps, and on websites. You cannot turn off just one of these without affecting the others. If you disable Apple Pay in Settings, it stops working everywhere. However, you can control whether individual apps and websites are allowed to use Apple Pay by going into Settings, Privacy, and looking for payment or wallet permissions—though most apps do not have a separate toggle for this.

If you want to use Apple Pay in stores but not online, or vice versa, your only option is to remove your cards from Wallet entirely and add them back only when you need them. This is inconvenient, so most people either accept Apple Pay everywhere or turn it off completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my bank know I turned off Apple Pay?

No. Turning off Apple Pay is a change you make on your device only. Your bank has no way to see whether Apple Pay is on or off on your phone. They only know if a transaction comes through using Apple Pay, which stops happening once you disable it.

Can I turn off Apple Pay without a passcode?

No. To change settings in Wallet & Apple Pay, you need to authenticate with your device passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID. This is a security measure to prevent someone else from disabling Apple Pay on your phone without your permission.

If I delete a card from Apple Pay, can I add it back?

Yes. You can add any card back to Apple Pay at any time by opening Wallet, tapping the plus sign, and entering the card details again. You do not need permission from your bank; the card issuer verifies you when you add it.

Does turning off Apple Pay stop other digital wallets like Google Pay?

No. Apple Pay and other digital wallets (Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc.) are separate systems. Turning off Apple Pay does not affect any other payment method on your phone. You would need to disable them separately if you have them installed.

What if I forgot my passcode and cannot access Settings?

If you cannot unlock your device, you cannot turn off Apple Pay through Settings. Your only option is to use Find My iPhone to remotely erase the device, which disables Apple Pay along with everything else. Contact your card issuer to deactivate the card itself as a faster alternative.