Rendering cards unusable with Apple Pay
Credit, debit, and prepaid cards added to the Secure Element can be used only if the Secure Element is presented with authorization using the same pairing key and Authorization Random (AR) value from when the card was added. On receipt of a new AR value, the Secure Element marks any previously added cards as terminated. This allows the operating system to instruct the Secure Enclave to render cards unusable by marking its copy of the AR as invalid under the following scenarios:
Card termination method | Device |
|---|---|
The passcode is disabled. | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro |
The password is disabled. | Mac |
The user signs out of iCloud. | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro |
The user selects Erase All Content and Settings. | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro |
The device is restored from Recovery Mode. | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro |
Unpairing | Apple Watch |
When a user erases the entire device—using Erase All Content and Settings, using Find My, or restoring their device—that device instructs the Secure Element to mark all cards as terminated. This has the effect of immediately changing the cards to an unusable state until the Apple Pay servers can be contacted to fully erase the cards from the Secure Element. Independently, the Secure Enclave marks the AR value as invalid so that further payment authorizations for previously enrolled cards aren’t possible. When the device is online, it attempts to contact the Apple Pay servers to help ensure that all cards in the Secure Element are erased.
Suspending, removing and erasing cards
Users can suspend Apple Pay, or remove and erase their cards on devices using the following methods.
Device | Method to suspend Apple Pay | Methods to remove and erase cards from Apple Pay |
|---|---|---|
iPhone, iPad, Mac | Place device in Lost Mode using Find My | Find My Apple Wallet Remove device from icloud.com Remove device from the Apple Account Delete the Apple Account from the Apple Data and Privacy page |
Apple Watch | Place device in Lost Mode using Find My | Find My Apple Wallet Remove device from icloud.com Remove device from the Apple Account Delete the Apple Account from the Apple Data and Privacy page Remove from the Watch app on paired iPhone |
Apple Vision Pro | NA | Apple Wallet Remove device from icloud.com Remove device from the Apple Account Delete the Apple Account from the Apple Data and Privacy page |
When a user suspends or removes cards from Apple Pay, the ability to make payments using those cards is suspended or revoked by the card issuer or respective payment network, even if the device is offline and not connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. Users can also contact their card issuer to suspend or remove cards from Apple Pay.