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Personal Finance · head to head

Apple Pay vs Wally

Apple Pay logo

Apple Pay

Personal Finance

The easier way to pay and send money

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
W

Wally

Personal Finance

Smart expense tracking for travel and daily life

From
Free
Rated
-
Full review

The short version

  • 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; Wally the Internet Archive's capture of wally.me on 2 January 2019 stated the app is free ('Control your money seamlessly. And, it's free.'), and claimed rankings as the #1 finance app in 22 countries and top 10 in 52 countries at that time.
  • They diverge on capability: Apple Pay covers Digital wallet, Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Apple Pay and Wally differ
AttributeApple PayWally
Pricing modelfreefreemium
PlatformsIOS, WatchOS, MacOSIOS, Android
Founded20142009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).

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
  • WatchOS support

Only in Wally

  • Receipt OCR scanning
  • Expense tracking
  • Receipt storage
  • Category management
  • Cloud storage
  • Android support

Both cover

  • IOS support

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 Wally
  • Paying in apps and on the web without entering card detailsnot Wally
  • Sending money between Apple users with Apple Cash and Tap to Cashnot Wally

Wally

  • Budget Managementnot Apple Pay
  • Expense Trackingnot Apple Pay
  • Investment Trackingnot 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

Wally

  • The Internet Archive's capture of wally.me on 2 January 2019 stated the app is free ('Control your money seamlessly. And, it's free.'), and claimed rankings as the #1 finance app in 22 countries and top 10 in 52 countries at that time.

Pricing, plan by plan

Apple Pay

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

Wally

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Receipt scanning
    • Expense tracking
    • Basic reports
  • Premium$9.99/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Unlimited storage
    • Cloud sync

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 Wally if

  • You need receipt ocr scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on IOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Wally review

Questions people ask

Is Apple Pay or Wally better?
Neither clearly leads. Apple Pay starts at Free and Wally at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apple Pay or Wally?
Apple Pay starts at Free and Wally at Free.
Does Apple Pay or Wally run on more platforms?
Apple Pay runs on IOS, WatchOS, MacOS. Wally runs on IOS, Android.
Can I use Apple Pay for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Wally is typically brought in for.
What can Apple Pay do that Wally cannot?
Apple Pay covers Digital wallet, Secure payments, Contactless transactions, P2P money transfers. Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning, Expense tracking, Receipt storage, Category management. Both handle IOS support.
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