Best payment and wallet apps for iPhone: Square Wallet, PayPal, Passbook, and more!

Don't want to weed through payment cards at the cash wrap? Try these payment and digital wallet apps for iPhone instead!

Looking for the best iPhone apps to pay with at your favorite stores? The ones that will let you make your wallet digital? The App Store offers all kinds of payment solutions for iPhone. Whether you're buying online or going to a good old-fashioned brick-and-mortar, there are a ton of apps to choose from. But wish payment and wallet apps are the very best?

Square Wallet

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Best payment and wallet apps for iPhone: Square Wallett

Square Wallet lets you link a debit or credit card to your Square account and pay with it anywhere Square payments are accepted. If someone sends you a Square gift card you can also store that inside the Square Wallet app for use whenever you're at that merchant. For some places of business, you can even choose items from inventory and have your sale ready before even getting to the cash register. Square merchants can then see you're using Square Wallet from the Square Register app and simply tap to confirm your payment.

If a lot of merchants in your area use Square, you can't go wrong with Square Wallet.

Google Wallet

Best payment and wallet apps for iPhone: Google Wallet

Google Wallet, currently available for purchases in the United States, lets you save all your loyalty cards in once place. You can also make payments online and at any merchant that has a card with credit attached to it. If you need to send money to someone, you can do so for free as long as they're using Google Wallet as well. Google Wallet offers tap to pay for NFC-enabled devices but as the iPhone doesn't have NFC, tap to pay isn't something Google Wallet supports for iOS... yet.

If you make a lot of digital payments or are tied into Google's services already, Google Wallet is a great option.

PayPal

Best payment and wallet apps for iPhone: PayPal

PayPal is one of the most accepted payment services on the planet. Lots of physical merchants can also let you pay with PayPal, no actual credit card needed. The PayPal app can use your location to determine what merchants around you let you pay with PayPal. Once you're at the checkout, just tell them you're paying with PayPal instead of cash or a card. You'll just have to enter your mobile number and PIN and you're good to go. PayPal just deducts the funds from whatever bank account or credit card you have linked.

If you already use PayPal as your payment service of choice, check out what merchants support payments with PayPal in your area.

Isis Mobile Wallet

Best payment and wallet apps for iPhone: Isis Mobile Wallet

Isis is available to both AT&T and Verizon customers and offers the same tap to pay functionality Android users currently enjoy with NFC. The only catch? You'll need to buy an accessory case to make Isis work. After that you can add all your payment cards, including American Express Serve and Chase bank cards, and start tapping to pay at literally thousands of merchants with tap to pay terminals.

If you don't mind buying a case in order to get the same tap to pay treatment Android customers already enjoy, get Isis Mobile Wallet.

See also:

  • Incipio Cashwrap Isis Ready Case - AT&T - $69 - Buy now
  • Incipio Cashwrap Isis Ready Case - Verizon - Buy Now

Passbook

Best payment and wallet apps for iPhone: Passbook

Last but definitely not least, lots of merchants have deployed their own payments cards that are integrated through Passbook. Just add the card within the merchant's app with support for Passbook and you're good to go. Whenever you're within the vicinity of a merchant you have stored in Passbook, your pass should appear on your Lock screen for easy access. Popular merchants such as Starbucks have deployed Passbook payments worldwide.

  • Built in to iPhone running iOS 6 and above

Your payment and wallet picks?

Do you make payments both online and at local merchants right from your iPhone? If so, what payment apps do you find yourself using the most? Let me know in the comments!

Allyson Kazmucha

iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.