Apple Pay 15-year-old cannot add card to wallet

[Vlad Soare]

Hello,

My 15-year-old daughter cannot add her debit card to the Wallet. No specific reason is given, just a generic error message, like "Apple Pay cannot be set up for this account", or something along those lines, which at first I thought had to do with her age. However, a quick search revealed that the minimum age for Apple Pay is supposed to be 13. So, why can't she add her card? Is there anything I should do on my end, in the family cloud settings, as a parent/organizer?

Thank you.

 

[NoBoMac]

Not all card issuers support Apple Pay, so, her debit card might be one of them. Check with the bank/issuer to see if they support it.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'm aware of that, but she doesn't even get to the point where the card details are requested. She receives an error message as soon as she touches the "add card" button. It's Apple Pay itself, not just her particular card, that doesn't seem to work for her.

 

[0128672]

The age restrictions vary by country and region according to Apple Support, so I'm guessing that could be a factor in your country. See footnote 2 in the article below.

Set up Apple Pay - Apple Support

To set up Apple Pay, add a debit, credit, or prepaid card to the Wallet app on your iPhone, Apple Watch, or other compatible device.

support.apple.com

 

[NoBoMac]

Yep, and or might also be tied into Family Sharing. I get the feeling that anyone under 18 cannot have their own payment methods for their Apple ID. Need to use Apple Cash.

Set up and use Apple Cash Family - Apple Support

If you have a Family Sharing group, learn what you need to set up Apple Cash for family members under 18 years old.

support.apple.com

Quick web search turns up a number hits where people are trying to do this with no success for a number of years now.

 

[philpalmiero]

Apple Cash would not permit my minor child to use Apple Cash. It was unfortunate too because it is an excellent method to make sure your child has money.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'm not trying to set up Apple Cash - meaning the service that creates a virtual card for her and allows me to send her money from my phone. She just wants to add her physical debit card to her Wallet, so she can pay with her phone instead of having to carry the card all the time - just the basic part of Apple Pay.

Indeed, it may be that the age restriction varies by country, though I can't for the life of me find out what the age limit might be in Romania. All I can find on the internet is 13.
On the Apple Romania web site there's exactly the same text, only translated into Romanian. It says the minimum age is 13 and can vary by country.

 

[0128672]

I would think her debit card's bank might be able to advise you about the minimum age in Romania since it's actually the banks that authorize the service. At least having that info would help narrow down the issue. If the minimum age in Romania is actually under 15, then it points to Family Sharing as a possible culprit.