Apple Pay not charging the selected card at POS, but defaulting to a single card.

Question

Apple Pay not charging the selected card at POS, but defaulting to a single card.

I have been using Apple Pay successfully for a couple of years now, however, recently I have encountered an issue whereby regardless of the card I use to pay with, the payment automatically charges one card in particular (my default card). But surely it should charge the card I have selected for that particular transaction? As a result I have resorted back to using my individual physical cards, which is a retrograde step, but the only way that I can currently ensure that the correct card is being charged. Any thoughts?

iPhone SE, iOS 18

Posted on Nov 17, 2025 3:45 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,358 points

Nov 18, 2025 5:01 AM in response to Blondies_Dad95

What country are you in? There are isolated reports of this happening being reported from UK, Canada and Australia. It’s only been reported once from US. Generally, because of the fairly rare occurrence of this anomaly I’ve been suggesting that the user report the issue directly to Apple Support. These forums are user to user and Apple and Apple Support do not participate in the community.

you’re in the US, please call 1-800-MY-APPLE, or outside the US, consult the support articles below. In Canada, call 1-800-263-3394.

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Reply

Answer 2

Nov 18, 2025 12:31 PM in response to Jeff Donald

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm in the UK. I contacted Apple Support and have opened a case query with them, they said it was a pretty rare scenario and they were a bit perplexed by it. They have suggested I update to IOS26 (I had been resisting), remove the McAfee VPN security that I added recently (it may be a coincidence that I added this around the time I started having the issue, or not). Then try a test of using a non default card in Apple Pay to see if it resolves the issue, if not I have to go back to them to progress the issue. Thanks for your help.

Reply

Answer 3

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,358 points

Nov 18, 2025 5:07 PM in response to Blondies_Dad95

VPN is a known issue, but not for the you’re experiencing. It also does not seem to be related to a specific iOS version. Try again, and please update the community with your experience using a non-default card.

Reply