The rumored feature would have Apple directly interfacing with financial institutions like Wells Fargo to show your current bank balances in the iPhone’s Wallet app.
- According to a tipster, Apple is rumored to be developing a feature that would display your current balances from multiple banks in the Wallet app.
- Apple would interface with banks directly instead of using open banking APIs.
- This would bring the Wallet app closer to replacing your banking app.
Bank balances may be coming to Apple’s Wallet app
Details about the supposed feature were leaked by the @analyst941 Twitter account. Although this particular tipster lacks an established track record, they accurately predicted the Dynamic Island feature and how it would work months before the iPhone 14 Pro’s announcement in September 2022.
“Apple is working with multiple banking partners to include your current balances from multiple sources, all within the Wallet app,” the tipster wrote. The Cupertino giant is understood to debut this feature in the future with limited initial support because only Wells Faro and Bank of America are “on board for tasting.”
It will be a slow rollout with banks 1 by 1 with so far only only WF and BoA on board for tasting.
— 941 (@analyst941) April 13, 2023
Our take: This is going to happen
This is very much how Apple rolls. It first secures backing from one or two major partners for a certain feature, prompting competitors to eventually jump on the bandwagon—especially as Apple amps up advertising around the feature.
Additional integrations could follow if the company is indeed working on this feature. As a result, the Wallet app could eventually replace your banking apps.
It’s unclear when showing bank balances in the Wallet app might launch. The source claims the feature is coming in later 17.x updates, so it may not be ready for iOS 17.0’s fall launch. In fact, you might need to “wait until iOS 18” or “even later.”
But rest assured “it’s coming,” the source wrote.
What about open banking?
In fintech, open banking denotes letting third-party apps and services securely access banking transactions and other data from financial institutions. Several different services and APIs are in use in countries worldwide that enable interoperability between financial institutions and third parties.
For example, in the European Union, the United States and elsewhere, customers can integrate their bank accounts between banks.
That’s “not how Apple will roll this out,” the source claims.
Instead, they continued, Apple will leverage its in-house technology to tightly interface with the banks, allowing the Wallet app to communicate with your bank’s systems directly instead of through a third party.
“It will be Apple to bank, not Apple → Third Party → Bank,” reads another tweet.
New Wallet features in iOS 16
iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura permit you to securely share your car, hotel room and other digital keys in the Wallet app. The bigger news is that those software updates also brought digital ID cards to the Wallet app.
This feature is only available in some US states but will eventually expand to all states (and beyond). A digital version of your state-issued ID in the Wallet app allows you to securely share identity information with apps and websites.
The Wallet app can also track your orders (and provides an order tracking widget for your Lock Screen) for Apple Pay purchases. Also, you can now top up your Apple ID account balance from your Apple Account card in the Wallet app.
Apple’s website has more info on other improvements in iOS 16’s Wallet.