Historically, to fund brokerage accounts, investors have had to endure a multi-day waiting period while funds were verified or manage a complicated wire transfer. TD Ameritrade is the first U.S.-based financial services firm to offer instantaneous funding for brokerage accounts through Apple Pay with just a touch using Touch ID or a double-click of the side button and glance at your iPhone X or later to authenticate with Face ID.

“Incredibly, the way we fund brokerage accounts hadn’t changed in the last 43 years, and it had become a huge pain point for our customers - in fact, it was one of our top five call drivers,” said Peter deSilva, president of retail at TD Ameritrade. “We’re excited to be the first to make opening and funding a brokerage account a fast, seamless experience on par with what consumers increasingly expect.”

“TD Ameritrade is focused on using technology in new ways to solve real problems and ultimately streamline the investing experience,” said Sunayna Tuteja, head of strategic partnerships and emerging technologies at TD Ameritrade. “We’re proud to set a new industry standard by enabling investors – for the first time in history – to fund their brokerage accounts instantly through Apple Pay using Apple Business Chat, giving them the ability to begin trading equities immediately.”

Using a debit card, customers can deposit up to $10,000 per day through Apple Pay using Apple Business Chat (depending on their bank’s limits). TD Ameritrade has been using Apple Business Chat as a messaging channel since 2018 and chose to add funding with Apple Pay because 75 percent of TD Ameritrade customers are iOS users.

Apple Pay is quick, easy, and secure. When you use a debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

With this initial launch, users can initiate the deposit with Apple Business Chat in the Messages app on their iPhone or iPad. To start an Apple Business Chat, customers can click the ‘Chat with Messages' button on the 'Contact Us' section of the TD Ameritrade website and TD Ameritrade Mobile App, or search for TD Ameritrade on iPhone or iPad in Maps, Safari or with Siri, then tap the Messages icon that appears next to the TD Ameritrade search result. The company plans to extend the use of Apple Pay to its website and mobile apps in the near future.

TD Ameritrade was among the first companies to participate in the launch of Apple Business Chat last spring, providing investors with financial market updates, investor education, research and trading directly through the Messages app on iPhone and iPad – and that now includes immediate account funding.

The ability to fund a brokerage account through Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 and later, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad (5th Generation), iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later. Apple Business Chat beta is built into iOS 11.3 and higher. Account funding through Apple Pay is limited to debit cards only; credit cards will not be accepted.