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Buying Bitcoin and crypto via Apple Pay Wallet is possible, especially thanks to cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms that have integrated the payment system of iPhones and iOS devices.
Apple Pay Wallet: buying Bitcoin and crypto thanks to integration on platforms
As is well known, Apple Pay does not provide for the direct purchase of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but thanks to crypto platforms such as Binance, BitPay, and Coinbase, this becomes possible.
After all, there are ‘only’ more than 507 million Apple wallet downloads, while in the US, it has a dominant 43.5% market share in the mobile payments market. For this very reason, integrating the Apple Pay wallet as a payment method for purchasing BTC is a strategy that increases and expands precisely the adoption of the queen of crypto.
iOS and iPhone devices have been using the Apple Pay wallet since 2014. Initially, the service only offered users payments on the device itself such as to pay for music and apps.
Later, taking advantage of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, the wallet was also accepted as a payment method by offline stores.
And it is NFC that has also enabled some crypto platforms to accept Apple Pay as a payment method.
Apple Pay Wallet: buying Bitcoin via Coinbase, BitPay and Binance
Coinbase introduced the ability to buy Bitcoin via Apple Pay back in June 2021, followed later in August with the integration of Google Pay as well. However, Apple Pay users must have linked a debit card to their wallet to use Coinbase, and in addition, while buying Bitcoin is possible, selling and cashing via the app on iOS devices is not yet active.
The limit for purchasing BTC with Apple Pay on Coinbase depends on the sum of the debit card’s transaction limit and Coinbase’s limits and is also subject to change based on policy, geographic area, and location.
In contrast, the web’s most popular crypto-exchange, Binance, has introduced and begun providing Apple Pay integration to purchase cryptocurrencies with credit and debit cards only to citizens of the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA). As for the US, however, it was not until December 2022 that Binance integrated Apple Pay only for debit cards and only to deposit dollars to buy crypto.
Transaction fees are 3.75% of the deposit amount when using Apple Pay wallet in the US, while in the UK, it is about 2%.
The famous BitPay also integrated Apple Pay in 2021 to buy, exchange and make purchases in BTC and other crypto assets via the wallet. In general, BitPay does not yet allow in-app cryptocurrency purchases, but contactless cryptocurrency purchases via NFC are possible in store and online using Apple Pay on supported devices.
With Apple Pay wallet and BitPay, users can purchase the queen of cryptocurrencies but also USDC and BUSD.
Even MetaMask and Crypto.com
MetaMask, the cryptocurrency software wallet used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain, has also integrated Apple Pay to allow its users to use it for daily deposits by imposing a maximum limit of $400.
With MetaMask, Apple Pay can be used not only for cryptocurrencies but also to enter the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). However, contactless in-store purchases are not yet available through this method.
Last June 2021, the famous cashback app in CRO, Crypto.com also announced the integration of Apple Pay as a payment method, although only for users in the US. Again, the Apple Pay Wallet app must be combined with a credit/debit card to be used.