Apple Files Trademark Application for Apple Pay Cash Peer-to-Peer Payments Service in European Union

Apple has filed a trademark application in the European Union for Apple Pay Cash, the company's new iMessage-based peer-to-peer payments service coming with iOS 11.

Unearthed by tech blog LetsGoDigital, the application was filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Thursday and is classified as "computer software for use in connection with electronic payment and funds transfers".

apple pay cash
By integrating with iMessage in iOS 11, Apple Pay Cash will enable users to make person to person payments right from within chat threads. To send a cash payment, the user authenticates it with Touch ID (or perhaps via facial authentication on the upcoming "iPhone 8") on their iOS device or Apple Watch.

Money received using the service goes on to an auto-generated virtual Apple Pay cash card, similar to a gift card, that gets stored in the Wallet app. The cash card can then be used to make regular Apple Pay purchases at retail stores and on the web. Alternatively, users will be able to transfer the money to an allocated bank account.

send receive apple pay cash via messages ios 11
Apple has yet to offer further details on how Apple Pay Cash will work, but Brazilian tech blog iHelp BR has uncovered code references in the Apple Pay framework that suggest users will need to authenticate the service with a driver's license or Photo ID before they can send any money through iMessage. This may be done by holding the ID in front of the camera, similar to when adding a bank card to Apple Pay.

While yesterday's trademark application has yet to be granted by the EUIPO, the fact that it has been filed already may mean Apple Pay Cash will go live across EU countries soon after the initial U.S.-only rollout.

Hopefully we'll know more on September 12, when Apple is expected to launch iOS 11 in tandem with new iPhones, new Apple Watches, and possibly a new 4K Apple TV at its fall event, set to take place at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...

Top Rated Comments

MLVC Avatar
101 months ago
How about bringing ApplePay to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium etc. first?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lionsy Avatar
101 months ago
How about bringing ApplePay to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium etc. first?
The only reason they wouldn’t have done it already is if the banks aren’t playing ball, or the infrastructure isn’t in place. There’s a reason it was available in the UK first, (after the home country) all the terminals had already been contactless for years and all the banks supported it.

If you want change, go to your bank and tell them you want it!

If the transfer don't go directly to the credit card account I'm not interested. We already have services for that here in Sweden (Swish). Having the money on some Apple Pay cash card makes no sense to me.
The article says you can withdraw it too
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keirasplace Avatar
101 months ago
You know what's funny? Belgium already enrolled contactless payments for Android smartphones. https://www.blog.google/topics/shopping-payments/belgium-meet-android-pay/ Samsung Pay did the same. Only Apple lags behind like always!!!!! I am so mad at them.

My bank Belfius already supports contactless payments and so does any other major bank in Belgium. I would love to know why Apple acts like a child full of tantrum.
Wth are you talking about, get a clue about how things really are. Android or Samsung doesn't support all banks btw, so your own tantrum is tiresome.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bollman Avatar
101 months ago
I can pretty confidently say that this is a no go from start, unless Apple register itself as a bank.

The EU has new, very strict laws concerning "money launder". This means, all transactions needs to be traceable and verifiable. That's why "swish" works in Sweden, it is a joint venture by Swedish banks so the transfer is directly from one bank account to another, and it's all traceable. There's no way Apple as a non-bank would be allowed to transfer money between people, and certainly not across borders (well, they can do it, but they would be constantly charged with money launder charges and people using it would be blacklisted from banks).

The laws are strict enough that handling cash is being downright an inconvenience. I was declined a loan unless I could provide proof of where I got $3000 in cash I had deposited on my account. The money came from selling 2 cars and I had to provide proof of ownership and sale or face blacklisting.

This is not a Swedish thing but new EU legislation, "money launder-directive" and "funds transfer regulation":
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1732_en.htm
[doublepost=1504281297][/doublepost]Oh, and Samsung Pay is already used here in Sweden, but not Apple Pay, one wonders why...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArneK Avatar
101 months ago
Zelle only came out extremely recently. It's yet another feature American banks were extremely late to the party with and no wonder why Apple rolled out AP and will roll out AP Cash here first.
yeah the banking infrastructure in the US is embarrassing. I was really looking forward to use Apple Pay for my semester abroad here but it's basically accepted nowhere because every store is trying to push its own app... It was quite shocking to me that my American friends here boasted with the increased security that they now have chips in their CCs. I didn't know there was even cards without chips. Being in my mid-20s, I never had a non-chip card ever since I have a bank account. The most shocking thing about this whole delay in security and lack of user friendliness though is that banks take huge cuts on everything here. You would think they could use at least some of that money for their costumers. I guess regulation did actually largely benefit the EU banking sector in terms of security and modern payment systems (even though I am from Germany where people for some reason LOVE paying with actual cash).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NecroKill Avatar
101 months ago
I can pretty confidently say that this is a no go from start, unless Apple register itself as a bank.

The EU has new, very strict laws concerning "money launder". This means, all transactions needs to be traceable and verifiable. That's why "swish" works in Sweden, it is a joint venture by Swedish banks so the transfer is directly from one bank account to another, and it's all traceable. There's no way Apple as a non-bank would be allowed to transfer money between people, and certainly not across borders (well, they can do it, but they would be constantly charged with money launder charges and people using it would be blacklisted from banks).

The laws are strict enough that handling cash is being downright an inconvenience. I was declined a loan unless I could provide proof of where I got $3000 in cash I had deposited on my account. The money came from selling 2 cars and I had to provide proof of ownership and sale or face blacklisting.

This is not a Swedish thing but new EU legislation, "money launder-directive" and "funds transfer regulation":
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1732_en.htm
[doublepost=1504281297][/doublepost]Oh, and Samsung Pay is already used here in Sweden, but not Apple Pay, one wonders why...
That concerns Apple Pay in absolutely 0 ways. Apple Pay is not some obscure currency or anything of the sort. Apple Pay is a way to protect your transactions, but that doesn't mean you can't trace it. Apple Pay is your BANKS credit or debit card and when you make a purchase using Apple Pay what do you think happens and what do you see in your card statement? It is perfectly traceable if needed. It is no different from sending money one Revolut or N26 user to another. We already know from iOS 11 beta that there will be some kind of ID verification and it seems that a 3rd party bank or other financial entity will managing Apple Pay Cash card for P2P payments.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)