This week iPhone users in the UK gained the ability to add their debit and credit cards from select banks to the Wallet app and not only use them to make purchases but also view their available balances and latest transactions for those accounts.
The feature is called “Connected Cards” and while it’s currently only available in the UK, MacRumors reports that we might see the feature show up on iPhones in the United States as well.
That speculation comes from the fine print found in the Wallet app when you set the feature up in the UK. When you go through the setup process you’re given the following message:
You permit Apple (Apple Payments Services Ltd (UK) or Apple Processing LLC (US)) to consolidate your account information and provide it to you. We do not store or share this information.
A legal document on Apple’s website seems to confirm the suspicion with the following statement:
If you are in the United States, Connected Cards is provided by Apple Processing LLC; if you are in the United Kingdom, Connected Cards is provided by Apple Payment Services Ltd (together, “Apple").
Of course, Apple has yet to make any sort of announcement about the feature in the United States, so while the infrastructure appears to be in place for the feature to launch in the United States there’s currently no expected timeline for the feature to arrive in the US, and it might not arrive at all.
If we do see Connected Cards in the US, there’s also no current information about what banks might participate.
MacRumors notes that the feature works on the UK’s open banking framework and that the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it expected to finalize an open banking rule in 2024.
