How to set up Apple Cash Family on iPhone

Apple Cash Family Start Now

For rewarding your child, giving them their allowance, and letting them make a purchase, you can use Apple Cash Family. This feature arrived with iOS 14 as a way for parents to digitally send money to their children and teens.

This is convenient for families who don’t walk around with wads of cash, whose kids use their money for apps or games, or spend money in stores; all with their parent’s permission of course. Here, we’ll show you the requirements for using and how to set up Apple Cash Family.

Apple Cash Family requirements

The first and biggest requirement is that you must be using Family Sharing. Remember, with a Family Sharing group you can share your Apple subscriptions, personal hotspots, and apps that other family members purchase.

In addition to your Family Sharing, here are the other requirements for Apple Cash Family:

  • The family organizer (the person who set up the Family Sharing group) must be the one to set up Apple Cash Family.
  • You must have at least one family member in the group under the age of 18.
  • Your Apple Cash account must use the same Apple ID that you used to set up Family Sharing.
  • The family member must have a compatible device with the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, or watchOS.
  • The family member must be signed into iCloud.
  • Each Apple ID must use two-factor authentication.
  • You must have your device region set to the United States.

It might look like a lot of requirements, but if you already use Family Sharing then you likely have most of this, if not all, in place already.

Set up Apple Cash Family

You can set up Apple Cash Family from your Wallet or Settings. Once you get started, the steps are the same in each spot.

In the Wallet app: You may see a notice right at the top for the feature, tap Start Now. Alternatively, select Apple Cash in your Wallet and tap Set Up Now under Apple Cash Family.

Set Up Apple Cash Family from Wallet

In the Settings app: Tap your profile at the top and select Family Sharing. Scroll down and choose Apple Cash and tap Set Up Apple Cash.

Family Sharing Set Up Apple Cash Family

Then follow these steps with the screen prompts:

1) Select the child’s name and select Set Up Apple Cash.

2) Follow the prompts to Continue and select the Apple Cash Recipients you want to allow for your child. You can pick Everyone, Contacts Only, or Family Members Only.

3) Read and Agree to the Terms and Conditions and tap Done.

Set Up Apple Cash Family

Once you set up Apple Cash Family, the rest is a breeze. Send your child their weekly allowance or your teen money for that new game they want.

As the family organizer, you can view and manage your child’s Apple Cash account:

  • View their transactions and balance.
  • Change who they can send money to.
  • Receive a notification when they make a transaction.
  • Lock their Apple Cash account.

If you are a parent or guardian who is not the family organizer, you can do all of the above except lock the child’s account. For more on managing your child’s Apple Cash account once set up, visit the Apple Support page for the feature.

Wrapping it up

If you’re a digital family and do things like share Apple subscriptions and apps and use chore apps and a shared calendar, then Apple Cash Family might be ideal. Are you going to set it up for your family? Let us know!