➤ Can't add a card to Apple Pay? 8 ways to solve 🕹

Linking your debit or credit card to Apple Pay is the first and most important step in setting up Apple's digital wallet. It's impossible to use Apple Pay on your devices without a card.

While the process is simple, many users see an error message or something else when trying to add a card to Apple Pay. This guide describes the solutions to some of these errors.

How to add a card to Apple Pay?

1. Troubleshoot Internet connection problems

You're seeing an error message “Unable to connect to Apple Pay. Make sure you are connected to the Internet. " error despite having an active Internet connection? Turn off your device's data network or WiFi and turn it back on. Now try adding the card again.

If the error persists, turn on airplane mode and turn it off. You should be able to add your debit or credit card to Apple Pay as soon as the device reconnects to the internet. You should also consider switching to another network or restarting the modem if you are using a wireless connection.

2. Eliminate some cards

If you are unable to add a debit or credit card to Apple Pay, your device has reached the maximum number of cards it can hold. According to Apple, up to 8 cards can be added to Apple Pay on iPhone 12 and newer models. Similar restrictions apply to Apple Watch Series 3 and newer models.

Apple Pay on older devices can hold a maximum of 8 cards. If you have more than 8 cards on Apple Pay, you will need to delete one card to make room for another. Go to the settings menu of Wallet e Apple Pay on your device, select a card and tap Remove paper.

3. Check the Apple ID and country of the device

Apple Pay doesn't work in all countries. You may not be able to add a bank card to Apple Pay if your Apple ID or device region is set to an unsupported country. To check or change the region of your iOS or iPadOS device, go to Settings > Generali > Language and Region > Region and select a supported country.

See this list of countries that support Apple Pay. If the country in the device settings is not listed, change it to a supported region and try adding the card to Apple Pay again.

If you can't add a card to Apple Pay and Wallet, you can check if your Apple ID country is set to a country where Apple Pay works. To check the country of your Apple ID (on iPhone or iPad), launch the app Settings and touch the name of Your account to open the Apple ID settings menu. Next, go on Media and purchases > View account > Country / region to view your Apple ID region.

Final report: you will need to cancel all active subscriptions before you can change the country of your Apple ID. To do this, go up Settings, click here name of Your account and select Subscriptions. Select the subscriptions on the page and tap Cancel subscription.

4. Disable or change the VPN connection

VPN connections can ruin your Apple Pay experience, particularly if the server location / country is a region where Apple Pay isn't supported. Change the location of the VPN server to a supported country and add your card to Apple Pay again. If the problem persists, disable the VPN connection and try again.

5. Check the status of Apple Pay

If you are still unable to add a card to Apple Pay after changing your region settings and VPN connection, there may be a problem with the payment service. Go to the Apple System Status page and check the color next to Apple Pay. A green indicator indicates that Apple Pay is working.

If the color indicator is yellow, you may get an “Apple Pay is temporarily unavailable” error message when you try to add a card. This means there is a problem with the Apple Pay servers. You will have to wait until Apple fixes the problem with the server (maybe it will take a few hours) or contact Apple Support to report the problem.

6. Reset the device password

While researching potential solutions, we found that many iPhone and iPad users have been able to handle the Apple Pay “Unable to Add Card” error by disabling and re-enabling the passcode on their devices. Follow the steps below and see if it helps.

Go up Settings > Face ID and passcode (o Touch ID e passcode ). Enter your current passcode to continue.
In the Face ID & Passcode menu, tap Disable passcode.

Note: The Deactivating the passcode will remove all cards previously added by Apple Pay. You will need to manually add cards again after disabling your device's passcode.

click on disable at the prompt to proceed.
Enter your Apple ID password and click disable.
Finally, re-enter your current password.
Go up Settings > Wallet e Apple Pay and select Add card.
You will be prompted to set up Face ID and passcode. Touch Set face ID and passcode to continue.
Scroll the page and select Activate passcode.
Enter your preferred passcode and enter it again for verification.
Type your Apple ID password and click Log in .

You should now be able to add your card to Apple Pay without any problems. Otherwise, try the next tip to fix Apple Pay issues.

7. Restart your device

Still can't add a card to Apple Pay? A restart of your device could help you set things right. Whether it's your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac, turn it off and on again. Try adding the card again and see if you can add your card this time.

8. Contact your bank

“Your issuer does not yet offer support for this card” is another common mistake in adding a card to Apple Pay. In this case, you should follow the instructions in the error message: contact your bank or financial institution that issued the card.

You can touch Further information on the error message to see a list of financial institutions whose debit and credit cards work with Apple Pay in your country.

Alternatively, visit this Apple Pay support page to view all participating banks that support Apple Pay worldwide. According to Apple, cards from some participating banks may not work in Apple Pay. So, if your bank is an Apple Pay partner but you can't add your card, contact the bank for assistance.

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It is also worth mentioning that it is not possible to add an expired or blocked card to Apple Pay. Contact your bank to verify that there are no restrictions or limitations on your card.

Updating your device, according to Apple, could help resolve issues that prevent you from adding a card to Wallet or Apple Pay.

You can reset your device settings as a last resort; this worked for some iPhone and iPad users. Go up Settings > Generali > Restore > Reset all settings and enter your device code. The phone will turn off and on again immediately. Try adding your card after the reset and see if it works.