Consumer Reports Says Apple Pay Cash is the Best P2P Mobile Payments Service

Apple Pay Cash is the highest-rated mobile peer-to-peer payments service on the market, according to a review by Consumer Reports.

In the first comparison of its kind, the Consumer Reports publication looked at the relative pros and cons of Apple Pay Cash, Zelle, Square Cash, Venmo and Facebook Messenger P2P payments. Google Pay's new money-sending feature wasn't included in the group test, however.

faceidapplepaycash
The five services were rated worse or better in terms of payment authentication, data security, data privacy, customer support, and broad access (use not limited to those with a bank account or particular mobile device).

All five services were rated good enough to use, but Apple Pay Cash came out the winner with a higher overall score, mainly because of its stronger privacy and security measures.

Apple Pay was the only service that got top marks from CR for data privacy, because its policies state that it limits the information it collects and shares on users and their transactions. It doesn't store credit card or debit card numbers, and it states in the terms and conditions that it doesn't sell users' personal information to third parties, CR found.

The requirement of later-generation Apple hardware and software was classed as the only major drawback of Apple Pay Cash, as per the "broad access" category described above.
consumer reports p2p mobile payments test
Venmo, Facebook Messenger, and Square Cash all rated above average in most categories barring privacy. Zelle was downrated for poor clarity in its data policies, and failed to offer a way to confirm payments in its mobile app, although the company said the feature would be included by late October.

After a brief delay, Apple Pay Cash arrived on iOS devices in December 2017, although it's currently only available to users in the United States.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...

Top Rated Comments

Kabeyun Avatar
90 months ago
Data privacy got Apple top marks.

Why, in spite of my few Apple frustrations, I’m all in to their ecosystem. They’re privacy bulldogs, and that’s huge.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DNichter Avatar
90 months ago
Of course. Anyone who cares about privacy will use Apple services.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
90 months ago
Consumer reports saying something ‘positive’ about Apple an Apple Pay? That’s astonishing. Apple Pay is convenient enoughfor me where I don’t need my debit card all the time and is supported heavily in my area.
If you go look at CR articles about Apple products, you'll find them mostly positive. They just don't get reported on. Out of all the Apple products tested by CR over the years, how many do you think were negatively rated? Of those negatively rated, was there ever one that didn't have a legitimate issue?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
90 months ago
Consumer reports saying something ‘positive’ about Apple an Apple Pay? That’s astonishing. Apple Pay is convenient enoughfor me where I don’t need my debit card all the time and is supported heavily in my area.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Newton1600 Avatar
90 months ago
Consumer reports saying something ‘positive’ about Apple an Apple Pay? That’s astonishing.
Need Apple Pay Cash in Canada
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
90 months ago
And Samsung gave up security like a sophomore at Prom when they allowed Samsung Pay to work on old payment machines via the credit card slot. Clever idea, but less secure than a dedicated NFC connection. Apple often forgoes cleaver/flashy features in favor of security. They are incredibly disciplined for such a large company.
Aside from the security aspect, look how convenient they coupled Apple Pay with the Apple Watch and LTE. I don’t even need my iPhone with me to pay for expenses. Times have changed, and Apple made it better and more simplistic for the consumer. It’s just a matter if the user want to take advantage of this technology or not.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)