How to Remove a Card from Apple Pay with iCloud

Erase your payment data ASAP

By
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
  • Ithaca College
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
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Updated on May 6, 2020

What to Know

  • Log in to iCloud and select Settings > iCloud Settings, choose your phone and the card you want to remove, select Remove. 
  • Alternatively, choose Remove All > Remove to remove all of the cards stored on your Apple Pay.

This article explains how to remove one or all forms of payment from Apple Pay using iCloud.

Log In to iCloud and Find Your Stolen Phone

Apple Pay uses the Touch ID fingerprint scanner or Face ID facial recognition system as part of its security, so a thief who has your iPhone also needs a way to fake your fingerprint or face to use your Apple Pay. Because of that, the likelihood of anyone making fraudulent charges is relatively low. Still, the idea that your financial information is stored on a stolen phone is uncomfortable.

Fortunately, there's an easy way to remove Apple Pay information from a stolen device using iCloud so you can rest easy.

To remove your credit or debit card from Apple Pay on an iPhone that's been stolen or lost, follow these steps:

  1. Go to iCloud.com on any device with a web browser —desktop, laptop, iPhone, or another mobile device.

  2. Log in using your iCloud account information, which is likely the same username and password as your Apple ID, but that depends on how you set up iCloud.

  3. When you are logged in and at the main iCloud.com screen, click on the Settings icon or click on your name in the top right corner and select iCloud Settings.

    A screenshot of the iCloud website with Settings highlighted

  4. Your Apple Pay information is tied to each device it is set up on rather than to your Apple ID or iCloud account. Because of that, you need to find the phone that's been stolen in the My Devices section. Apple makes it easy to see which devices have Apple Pay configured by putting an Apple Pay icon beneath them.

    A screenshot of iCloud Settings with the Apple Pay logo highlighted

  5. Click the stolen iPhone that has the card you want to remove to open it in a new window.

  6. Underneath the iPhone image is a list of the cards you have listed in your iPhone. Choose Remove All.

    A screenshot of a device on iCloud with the Remove All Credit Cards command highlighted

  7. Select Remove in the confirmation screen that pops up to complete the deletion of your financial information.

    A screenshot of the Apple Pay confirmation window with the Remove button highlighted

After you recover your stolen iPhone or get a new one, you can set up Apple Pay as usual and start using it to make fast purchases again.

More Tips for When Your iPhone Is Stolen

Man stealing woman's phone out of back pocket
Nathan ALLIARD / Photononstop / Getty Images

When someone steals your iPhone, removing a card from Apple Pay is only one of the steps you need to take. Here are some other tips for what to do next: 

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