Apple Promotes New Apple Pay UK Bank Account Balance Feature

Apple today highlighted the ability in iOS 17.1 for UK users to connect their credit and debit cards in Apple Wallet and easily access information like account balance, spending history, and more.

Apple Wallet connected accounts hero
Users can view their up-to-date bank card balance, payments, deposits, and withdrawals in Wallet and when they're checking out with Apple Pay online or in-apps. Apple says the new feature "empowers users to make more informed purchases, increases their confidence when making a transaction, and allows them to simply view frequent information so that they have more control when it comes to their finances."

From Apple's press release:

"By enabling users to conveniently access their most useful account information within Wallet and at the time of their purchase, they can make informed financial decisions and better understand and manage their spend," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We look forward to working with U.K. partners under the Open Banking initiative to help users better their financial health, and provide more ways in which banks can deepen their relationships with customers."

Apple added the transaction and card balance functionality to the Wallet app in October's iOS 17.1 update as part of its Connected Cards feature, and several banks have since come on board, including Barclays, Barclaycard, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, M&S Bank, Monzo Bank, NatWest Bank, and Royal Bank of Scotland.

UK banks support the Open Banking API to integrate with the Wallet app, which has made the feature widely available to UK users, while the Connected Cards rollout in the United States has lagged behind.

Popular Stories

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

These 5 Apple Products Will Reportedly Be Upgraded With OLED Displays

Friday January 16, 2026 7:07 pm PST by
Apple plans to upgrade the iPad mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays between 2026 and 2028, according to DigiTimes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that the iPad mini and MacBook Pro will receive an OLED display as early as this year, but he does not expect the MacBook Air to adopt the technology until 2028 at the earliest. A new iPad Air is...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

Apple Plans to Expand iPhone Driver's Licenses to These 7 U.S. States

Friday January 16, 2026 12:12 pm PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday January 18, 2026 3:51 pm PST by
iOS 27 is still many months away, but there are already plenty of rumors about new features that will be included in the software update. The first beta of iOS 27 will be released during WWDC 2026 in June, and the update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

MacBook Pro Buyers Now Facing Up to a Two-Month Wait Ahead of New Models

Sunday January 18, 2026 6:50 pm PST by
MacBook Pro availability is tightening on Apple's online store, with select configurations facing up to a two-month delivery timeframe in the United States. A few 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro configurations with an M4 Pro chip are not facing any shipping delay, but estimated delivery dates for many configurations with an M4 Max chip range from February 6 to February 24 or even later. At...

Top Rated Comments

rodpascoe Avatar
29 months ago
Such a shame that Starling enabled this and then pulled it within a week or two, I found it really handy.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PegasusTenma Avatar
29 months ago

I'm not sure how this can be an Advantage, I enjoy Apple Pay etc.
If my u.k. Bank Didn't offer their own built App, then maybe Wallet could help.
Honestly not sure of the need of More 'Duplicate' features Apps.
Maybe 'The Everything App' will Astound' me :rolleyes:
I have had it for a few weeks now with Lloyds bank. I actually find it super useful because accessing my banking app is a bit of a hassle, it takes time and it likes to show me inbox messages before letting me in.

With this wallet feature I can see immediately my balance and my transactions. I think is really really good.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
29 months ago
Starling still missing…
Curious what is keeping them from getting it done.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benjamieson Avatar
29 months ago

I’m really wary of Open Banking.

According to Lloyds Bank, none of the protection for fraud applies to Open Banking transactions.
Don't be to wary. It's merely a 'view', or window, if you like.

Open Banking connections can't make transactions, only pull in details of existing transactions and balances,

That's what it's for.

It's how all the credit agencies work in the UK, and in my case makes my accounting far easier by allowing me to tie my company accounts to my bank accounts (Quickbooks).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aperantos Avatar
29 months ago

This is true - no protection for Open Banking Payments
Which bank?

As with everything else governed by the EUs Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2), which has was adopted into UK law a part of the Brexit transition, open banking requires Secure Customer Authentication for every Third-Party Payment transaction. The only exceptions are VRPs, and those are currently only mandated for sweeping.

Which is to say that you should need to go into your bank's app to authorize any payment made through another app or service with the only exception being when transferring money between different accounts you personally own.

It is expected Virtual Recurring Payments will replace both direct debits and having services save your card details for taking payments. But even then you will still need you to first set up the mandate, which requires SCA, so it is similar to direct debits but with more security, flexibility, and control. The result is any businesses, services, and apps you allow to initiate payments only need a token rather than account details, making it more secure, and you can cancel the token at any time.

With VRPs the responsibility for authentication is delegated to the third party Payment Initiation Service Provider. So you will not need to switch apps to approve transactions that are with your chosen limits. But any such service has to be regulated by the FCA and you can claim fraudulent payments be refunded.

So in this way it is no different to using Apple Pay, where you do not have to approve payments through your bank's app as Apple takes on the authentication responsibility. Which is why it requires a biometric or passcode approval for payments, other than public transport Express Mode

As authentication is delegated with VRPs, not removed, the open banking providers need to provide their own authentication as part of the PSD2 regulations. Which as they will otherwise be liable in cases of fraud they will obviously want to put their own measures in place anyway.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Englishmike2 Avatar
29 months ago

I’m really wary of Open Banking.

According to Lloyds Bank, none of the protection for fraud applies to Open Banking

Don’t be too upset if you can’t have this. Giving third parties access to your bank account details over something so trivial isn’t the wisest thing to do.

Don’t be too upset if you can’t have this. Giving third parties access to your bank account details over something so trivial isn’t the wisest thing to do.
Doesn't work like that, you don’t understand the Open Banking system.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)