The latest version of IOS for iPhone, iPad, and iWatch devices really, really wants you to set up Apple Wallet / Apple Pay. Your devices want you to embed Apple in the middle of every purchase, and they’ll pester you every time you pick up your device with full-screen dialogs insisting that you need to finish setting up Apple Wallet. Right. Now.
I try to limit the number of things that can access my money, and I have no reason or desire to set up Apple Wallet, so I turned the notifications off. They are embedded in three separate places on the iPhone.
Go to Settings > Notifications > Wallet, turn Allow Notifications off.
Go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay, turn both the Apple Cash and Double-Click Home Button off.
Go to Settings > Safari, scroll to the bottom, click Advanced, turn Check for Apple Pay off.
After you update the three settings above, you will still see a notice in Settings stating Finish Setting Up Your iPhone.
-
- Click
Finish Setting Up Your iPhone. - It’ll prompt you to
Set Up Apple Pay. - Click
Set Up Apple Pay, then pressCancelor"Set up later"to exit without doing anything.
- Click
No more nag screens!
Hope you found this useful.
Article updated on 2018-07-10 and 2019-10-08 for IOS 13.1.2
Article checked on 2020-06-15 for IOS 13.5.1. The instructions still work!
Article checked on 2020-11-27 for IOS 14.2.1. The instructions still work!
Article checked on 2022-03-15 for IOS 15.4. The instructions still work!
Article checked on 2022-10-18 for IOS 16.0.3. The instructions still work!
Article checked on 2023-10-08 for IOS 17.0.3. Made two minor changes to the instructions, and they still work!
I did all 3 of the above suggestions. I still have a notice in Setting stating “Finish Setting Up Your iPhone”. When I click on the notice, it’s prompting me to “Set Up Apple Pay”. How do I get rid of this reminder?
Click “Set up Apple Pay”, then exit without doing anything.
When I exited Apple Pay setup without doing anything, the nag was still there. When I clicked on “Cancel” in Apple Pay setup the nag disappeared.
I was just updating the article this morning for IOS 1.13.2 and I also noticed that change. Thanks for mentioning it!
Apple has become so demanding and annoying that I am ready to go android.
Thank you! Worked perfectly!
DB
Accept the prompt to set up apple pay (either do it from the popup nag message, or from tapping on settings and doing it there), but don’t actually do the setup; instead, at the first screen, look to the bottom. There is a place to click that says “Set up later in wallet”. Click that, then you’re done! No more nagging messages.
That link at the bottom no longer exists!!
The ‘cancel’ label is top left, not at the bottom
Thanks for great info! **Set up in Wallet later is the current option as of Nov 2019. That final step – going into Set Up Apple Pay then saying LATER finally closed the red notification dot. A is apple and A is for annoying! Sheesh!
New update has it too. Won’t go away no matter what you shut off. Right there with ya ugh..
Click on “Set up Apple Pay” . Then click on (something along the lines of) ‘Later’ or ‘Not Now’.
That gets rid of the ‘Set up….” notice.
Thank you!! I LOVE Apple Pay – but only on my phone and watch, I do not need it on my iPad. The nagging was incessant.
Thank you!!! I now have no more notices!!!
Thank you Earl!
Thank you! It worked for me and I am the “technology impaired!”
You’re welcome! This has been my most popular blog post of the past year!
If you want to help spread the word, click any of the “share” buttons to share with your Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc.
I think something may have changed. The suggestions above no longer work. The ‘Set up later in Wallet’ link no longer exists. So the wallet is currently rendered unusable.
The point of the article is to turn off the nag screens without setting up the wallet. If you don’t set up the wallet it is rendered unusable.
If you want to use the wallet, set it up. Setting it up will also get your phone to stop nagging you since you have now complied with its orders and it got what it wanted. For now. Until it wants something else.
Read the instructions. No more Apple Pay. It’s pretty god damn simple… because this article makes it simple. Did it in one try, while extremely drunk. You need to learn to read. Thank you master of the iPhone, Earl C. Ruby III
Thank you for the step by step directions. Worked great on my girlfriends phone. I on the other hand love Apple Pay
Thanks Earl, that was so annoying!!
How do I get the billing verification to go away?
So nice to have this gone.
Thank you so much for this! I just hit “cancel” in the upper left of the screen in the last step, in case that is what people are looking for.
Now if only the Apple Pay icon also vanished from new Message blanks. Leave it to Apple to rub our noses in their, uh, profit centers.
HELP .
Cannot access my seats in WALLET—did all the steps, lost the red number 1 but cannot get it off my WALLET.
I put my card by mistake on someone iPhone and I want to Remove it remotely is that possible without getting back to him
No.
Perfect.. Thank You!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! That advice was spot on and great!
LUHV UHT! Worked like a champions
Every time I open wallet there is still the large screen asking me to set-up ipay. How do I get rid of this screen within wallet please? I tried the suggestions but it is still there.
Don’t use the wallet.
This worked great! Thank you SO much. Apple can be very intrusive.
Awesome! Worked! Thanks!
This worked perfectly! Thank you! For company that used to pride itself on providing an ”insanely great” UX, ain’t it amazing how difficult Apple makes it?
Thank you. This was really helpful. But why does Apple need a Third Party to help us do the obvious?
Thank you again.
I have IOS 13.3, and the instructions do not work.Did something change?
I’m on ios13.3.1 – followed Earl’s instructions an it worked perfectly on an old 7+.
Thanks for taking the trouble to post this very helpful article.
THANK YOU!
Thank you Kindly – wow this company really needs to get a grip! unfortunately, they are cornering the market – they have the best product and they know it. How else could they get away with charging people 1000+ for a piece of plastic.
Thank you again for your help with the latest iNAG!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! I lived with that stupid thing nagging me on my last phone and now that I finally broke down and spent a small fortune on a new phone, the nag followed right along.
I am grateful you took the time to put this post up with such clear directions!!
Thank you so much! :) Earl Ruby U R Da Man!!
I’m a Jonny come lately to this particular “fix” but it’s SO VERY welcome!!
Thanks Again!
And Earl! U R a Priceless Helper for us “have-to” apple-crap users!
I think I love you! Thanks!
Thanks so very very much!
Thanks so very very much! It was very irritating!
Still works in iOS 14. Thanks!
Earl, you are an iOS ninja! That damn alert icon on Settings had me checking every other day to see if it was actually something critical. BTW, the first Google snippet that came up in my search was to this post
Rage subsiding… pulse slowing… anger fading… thanks, Earl! Actually, I kinda need my phone.
Thank you! I’ve been struggling with this for two days, that fixed it (I hope… knock wood…)
Thanks so much!
10/20/2021 I tested these instructions to turn off ApplePay & Wallet and worked the dream!
Thanks, mate. Well done!
Ps: IOS 15.0.2
Dude! Worked perfectly…thanks so much!!!!
Worked a treat, Top Man thank you
Thank you. It worked first time. Saved thr instructions.
Still works on iOS 16.0.3 :)
Genius! THANK YOU! Still working, iOS 15.7.1!
IOS 16.1.1
Does not work at all. Cannot turn off nag.
Bless you child.
That was the most annoying thing from Apple yet. Dare I say ‘Vista’ level annoying?
… and they just buried the Safari “Check for Apple Pay” on/off setting in Safari’s “Advanced” settings. It’s not advanced, Apple just doesn’t want you to find it.