Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by needusername 3291 days ago
Does anybody know how Apple Pay peer-to-peer actually works? I find all the information I can on the web disappointingly light. The same thing was true for the original Apple Pay which lead to myths like Apple Pay using a new PAN every time out pay.

> Bank transfers will be handled separately.

When are bank transfers used and for what? For unloading? If so do you have to unload via bank transfer or can you use a CFT transaction? I can't imagine a case where you want to unload using an ACH or SWIFT transaction. I would image you always want to use a domestic settlement system or T2 if you can.

> Apple Pay Cash’s back-end is powered by a Green Dot-backed Visa prepaid card

Only in the US or globally? I imagine there is a lot of fine print associated with that like the amount of funds you can store. I will get a tax statement even if I live outside the US, right?
2 comments
tear888 3291 days ago
It's a debit push payment. Everyone is issued a green dog virtual card and then the entire network works over debit (with a layer of abstraction that Apple builds on top).
link
needusername 3291 days ago
> It's a debit push payment

What does that mean?

> Everyone is issued a green dog virtual card

I assume that's just a VISA Debit or VPAY with a special BIN range. Is that correct? Does everybody in the world participating in Apple Pay get a US issued VISA Debit card?

> then the entire network works over debit

There is no difference at all between VISA credit and VISA debit apart from interchange and when how the issuer bills the card holder. The whole infrastructure is the same. I assume with "works over debit" you mean is VISA cleared, is that correct? Does that also mean that unloading happens with a CFT transactions? If so what does the following sentence in the article mean "Bank transfers will be handled separately."?

link
SyneRyder 3291 days ago
They're good questions, but I think they're answered by the point that Apple Pay Cash is US-only. The service is just Apple's abstraction of Green Dot [1] branded prepaid reloadable VISA cards. If it's US only, Apple doesn't need to worry about the international corner cases yet.

There's some more info at Recode [2]:

[1] https://www.greendot.com/

[2] https://www.recode.net/2017/6/5/15741636/apple-pay-p2p-venmo...

link
needusername 3291 days ago
> Apple Pay Cash is US-only

Thank you, I missed that point. I guess it's understandable given the environment but still I wish Apple would have gone for something more ambitious like the original Apple Pay.

link
lathiat 3291 days ago
> which lead to myths like Apple Pay using a new PAN every time out pay.

Yeah I discovered much later that's effectively a function of tap-to-pay (which is highly prominent here in Australia, unlike many countries, almost every shop terminal has support and almost all bank cards have it also... chip and pin is also standard, and signatures are never allowed for domestic card even with a swipe)

link