Aussies urged to update their Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay digital wallets to avoid New Year’s Day payment glitch mayhem

Australians who rely on digital wallets to pay for everyday goods and services are being urged to update their debit card details by midnight.

More than a third of cashless consumers now conduct personal transactions using smartphones’ digital wallets through Apple, Samsung and Google apps.

But a bug in the software upgrade affecting 60,000 active accounts means their debt card, linked to their bank account, will have to be re-added to digital wallets so customers can make payments on New Year’s Day.

The Australian Banking Association and Australian Payments Plus or AP+ are urging customers to remove and reinstall the card linked to their digital wallet if they have received a notice from their bank.

This concerns debit cards linked to a digital wallet that have been used in the past three months.

AP+ CEO Lynn Kraus said customers simply had to delete and re-add their card on their mobile device.

“I urge anyone who has received a message from their bank to update the debit card on their mobile wallet so they can do so today,” she said.

‘Removing and re-adding your debit card is a quick solution that will ensure EFTPOS payments proceed normally from January 1, 2025.’

Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh said only a small number of consumers were affected.

“While banks have proactively reached out to the small group of affected customers, some have yet to take required action,” she said.

‘It’s a simple process that only takes a few minutes and ensures that your debit card can continue to make payments into the new year.’

AP+ released a statement on December 18 warning that approximately 60,000 cards would not be automatically updated on the digital wallet.

Card issuers, including banks, have since contacted customers and advised them to re-add their debit card.

The issue affects those who added their debit card to their digital wallet before July 2023 and are using an EFTPOS-only debit card.

AP+ estimated that 60,000 active cards would have issues, out of the 19.1 million EFTPOS cards now linked to a digital wallet, when it rolled out a technical update on New Year’s Day.

The Reserve Bank estimates that 35 percent of debit and credit card transactions are made through a digital wallet, up from 10 percent in early 2020 during the start of the Covid pandemic.

The Australian Banking Association and Australian Payments Plus or AP+ are strongly advising customers to remove and reinstall the card linked to their digital wallet if they have received a notice from their bank

“Debit card payments are more likely to be made using a mobile wallet than credit card payments,” according to the RBA’s annual payments report.

Only 13 percent of transactions are now made in cash, compared to 76 percent for cards, with this figure including payments made with plastic or a digital wallet linked to a debit or credit card that allows tap-and-go convenience.