Take Control of
Apple Wallet

“A book about Wallet? Really? Are you pulling my leg? Shouldn’t an app that just holds payment cards and store/membership cards be simple enough to use without a 100-plus-page book?”

Look, that’s what we thought, too, but we kept running up against pain points in Wallet for iPhone and Apple Watch, along with Apple Pay nuances, that took us aback. And we kept finding obscured features that we had to dig for. In particular, both author Glenn Fleishman and editor Joe Kissell kept saying “huh!” and then documenting that “huh” so you don’t say it, too.

In the end, Glenn dissects Wallet, pulling its virtual pieces apart, so you can use more of its surprisingly rich set of offerings, and avoid bumping against what it doesn’t do—particularly when there’s no error or feedback about why it’s not working.

While the iPhone’s Wallet app bulges the most with features and options, Glenn thoroughly covers the Wallet app on the Apple Watch. He also explains where the Wallet & Apple Pay settings on an iPad and Mac fit in, since you can use and manage Apple Pay and autofillable cards on those two operating systems as well.

The book covers these topics:

• Understand how Apple organizes wallet on an iPhone and Apple Watch.
• Configure the many Wallet options, scattered around the app and Settings.
• Work with payment cards, exploring the details available when a card is added.
• Get to know AutoFill cards, and how they differ from Apple Pay payment cards.
• Learn about how Apple Pay protects card security, and the many ways you can use it.
• Dig into the unique characteristics of Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Apple Savings.
• Export statement data from Apple Card, Apple Cash, and Apple Savings to import into financial management apps.
• Explore the nuances of how features and limitations vary for using Apple Pay on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
• Manage and use passes that give you access to an event (such as a concert or movie).
• Board a plane, train, or other scheduled transit with a digital pass.
• Set a payment card for express transit entry for systems that support Apple Pay—and even use it when your phone is on reserve power.
• Install transit network cards.
• Understand where the Wallet & Apple Pay settings on iPad and Mac fit in with the iPhone and Apple Watch Wallet app.
• Get the advantages of store and other loyalty and reward cards without carrying a zillion pieces of plastic.
• Create a digital ID from a U.S. driver’s license (in some states), or a limited digital version of your U.S. passport for TSA entry.
• Track Apple Pay orders gleaned from your various Apple devices.
• Discover where Apple stows preauthorized payments made with Apple Pay, and how to manage them.

About Glenn Fleishman

Take Control Books Executive Editor Glenn Fleishman spent 30 years writing for publications like The Atlantic, Fast Company, The Economist, The New York Times, Macworld, and TidBITS. Glenn now focuses his time on Take Control Books, Six Colors (as a columnist), and his own micro-publishing endeavor, Aperiodical, where he writes books about type, printing, comics, and language history, like Six Centuries of Type & Printing and How Comics Are Made. You can find Glenn on Mastodon and Bluesky. Reach him by email at glenn@glennf.com.