How to disable Apple Pay remotely if you lose your iPhone

Losing your iPhone or Apple Watch, or having it stolen, is certainly a very upsetting experience. One of the first things to consider in such a situation is protecting your payment information and credit card details. Of course, Apple Pay has safeguards in place through Touch ID, Face ID or your personal passcode. In addition, credit card information and security codes are not stored locally in the phone's memory. Nevertheless, there is still a risk that someone could gain access and carry out transactions.

To protect your money, you can remotely disable Apple Pay on lost or stolen Apple devices. Apple itself provides this option, allowing you to remove your credit card details without having the device to hand.

You can disable Apple Pay in two ways. The first is through the Find My app, by following the steps below:

1. Open the My App application. Click on the device you have lost, then select Mark as Lost and Activate>Continue.
2. Create a new passcode to lock the device remotely. After entering it again to confirm, select Activate at the top of the screen.
3. If you do not have another Apple device, go to iCloud.com/find, sign in with your Apple ID and enable Lost Mode.
4. Once the process is complete, all cards linked to Apple Pay will be removed.

You can continue using your physical cards without worry, and if you find your lost device, entering your four-digit passcode will reactivate Apple Pay.

Alternatively, you can use the Apple ID website to delete your card details, by following the steps below:

1. Visit appleid.apple.com and sign in to your account. Then find your Apple ID account page.
2. View all the devices signed in with your Apple ID and select the one you have lost.
3. Next, select Remove Card. In the pop-up window asking whether you are sure you want to do this, click Remove to confirm.

After the final step, the message Removal Pending will appear on your screen, and after a few minutes your card details will be deleted from your device.