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Personal Finance · head to head

Apple Pay vs Medius

Apple Pay logo

Apple Pay

Personal Finance

The easier way to pay and send money

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medius logo

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Apple Pay has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Apple Pay apple Pay works only in countries and regions that support contactless payments and is not available in all markets; Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • They diverge on capability: Apple Pay covers Digital wallet, Medius covers Invoice capture and coding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apple Pay and Medius actually diverge.

Attributes where Apple Pay and Medius differ
AttributeApple PayMedius
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsIOS, WatchOS, MacOSWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryPersonal FinanceAccounting
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Apple Pay

  • Digital wallet
  • Secure payments
  • Contactless transactions
  • P2P money transfers
  • Credit cards
  • Debit cards
  • Bank accounts
  • IOS support

Only in Medius

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • Matching and exception handling
  • Fraud and anomaly detection
  • Supplier payments
  • Approval workflow
  • ERP integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Apple Pay

  • Contactless in store payment from iPhone and Apple Watchnot Medius
  • Paying in apps and on the web without entering card detailsnot Medius
  • Sending money between Apple users with Apple Cash and Tap to Cashnot Medius

Medius

  • A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Apple Pay
  • A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Apple Pay
  • Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Apple Pay
  • Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot Apple Pay

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Apple Pay

  • Apple Pay works only in countries and regions that support contactless payments and is not available in all markets
  • Apple Cash is available only in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
  • Apple Cash Family accounts and Tap to Cash transactions are each capped at 2000 USD within a rolling seven day period
  • Mac support requires a Touch ID equipped model
  • A card works only if the issuing bank supports Apple Pay, and banks may charge their own overseas usage fees

Medius

  • The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
  • Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
  • Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
  • ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

Pricing, plan by plan

Apple Pay

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Secure payments
    • P2P transfers
    • Transit passes

Medius

On request
  • Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
    • Two packaged AP automation tiers
    • Priced by invoice volume and entity count
    • Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Apple Pay if

  • You need digital wallet.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on IOS, WatchOS, MacOS.
  • You also want secure payments.
Apple Pay review

Choose Medius if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matching and exception handling.
Medius review

Questions people ask

Is Apple Pay or Medius better?
Neither clearly leads. Apple Pay starts at Free and Medius at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apple Pay or Medius?
Apple Pay has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Apple Pay and On request for Medius.
Does Apple Pay or Medius run on more platforms?
Apple Pay runs on IOS, WatchOS, MacOS. Medius runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Apple Pay for free?
Yes. Apple Pay has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medius starts at On request.
What is Apple Pay best used for?
Apple Pay is most often used for contactless in store payment from iphone and apple watch, paying in apps and on the web without entering card details, sending money between apple users with apple cash and tap to cash. Of those, contactless in store payment from iphone and apple watch and paying in apps and on the web without entering card details are not what Medius is typically brought in for.
What can Apple Pay do that Medius cannot?
Apple Pay covers Digital wallet, Secure payments, Contactless transactions, P2P money transfers. Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Apple Pay: Does Apple Pay charge fees?

No. Apple does not charge any fees when you pay with Apple Pay in stores, online, or in apps.

Source
Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

Apple Pay: What are the transaction limits for Apple Cash Family?

Apple Cash Family accounts have a maximum transaction limit of $2,000 within any rolling seven-day period for sending or receiving money. The same $2,000 rolling 7-day limit applies to Tap to Cash peer-to-peer transfers.

Source
Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

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