Global Disruption of Apple Pay: Unforeseen Outage leaves Millions Struggling with Payment Issues Worldwide
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When Apple Pay crapped out worldwide on May 16, 2025, at around 8:14 PM IST, users struggled to make purchases or access their hard-earned cash. This breakdown extended to associated services, such as Apple Card, Apple Cash, and the Wallet app. Apple's System Status page confirmed the hiccup was sorted by 10:31 PM IST, but the damage was already done.
With a massive user base of over 745 million people worldwide, including more than 60 million in the US, Apple Pay plays a crucial role in the company's digital kingdom. While Apple didn't reveal the exact number of users affected, they admitted some folks experienced a hiccup with the service.
Outage-tracking site DownDetector recorded an incredible 2,000 complaints from stateside users, primarily reporting payment failures and troubles transferring money. Grumbling users swarmed social media to vent their annoyance and seek updates.
DownDetector's forlorn map pinpointed widespread problems with Apple Pay in major US metropolises, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, along with scarcely populated outages in the UK and Europe. Nationwide pandemonium ensued.
Countless Apple Pay users threw their digital hands up in desperation on DownDetector and social media, receiving a grim message, "Can't accept Apple Cash payments right now."
One disgruntled user commented, "This is what happens when we trust everything to the tech elite. #ApplePay relies on internal systems, and when they go south... transactions grind to a halt."
"Apple should step up and be more transparent about these malfunctions. How long should it take them to come clean and fix the mess?" wrote another irritated user.
"Apple Pay being down is the ultimate proof that a cashless society is a dystopian nightmare. Cash needs to stick around to ensure our financial freedom," chimed in a third user on X (formerly known as Twitter).
So there you have it – a day when the technocrats' toy messed up royally, leaving millions stranded without their digital wallets. Stick a forkin' candle in it.
Finance experts expressed concern over the impact of the widespread Apple Pay outage on user trust and the digital finance industry, while technology analysts posited that the incident underscored the reliance on single systems for financial transactions.
