Apple Pay/Credit I recently set up my Apply Pay, and was reading that I can add family members so that they can also use my account. Can I put a minor as an authorized user to establish credit in their name? 202 1 ... Just so I understand, you were using Apple Cash without verification of identity ... More on discussions.apple.com

So my wife and I just went through this exact scenario and here’s the conclusion we came to… If the account is part of a Family Sharing group there is no way to make the child’s account default to Apple Cash for Apple account purchases. Our mistake was assuming that Apple Cash is the same thing as funds on the Apple ID. Turns out they’re still separate. Only funds on the Apple ID (old iTunes account balance) can be used to buy Apple account stuff (in app purchases, movies, etc) while in a Family group. Otherwise the family’s default payment method will be used and you’ll get the request notification. You have to put gift cards on the kid account which is separate from Apple Cash. You can still send those electronically from the iTunes Store app or App Store but it’s not as convenient as sending money through Apple Cash. If they have a Apple ID balance, then that will be used first before hitting the family share pay method. The only way to use Apple Cash specifically for Apple account purchases is to kick them out of the family group which defeats the purpose entirely. Very much not ideal and not how we thought it would/should work. So TL;DR Apple Cash and Apple ID money is still two separate things. Only Apple ID money can be used by a kid account when in a Family Share group to buy Apple stuff otherwise it’s always going to hit the main account’s payment method. More on reddit.com

It looks like Apple, for some reason (I would guess there is some regulation limit on it), set up a hard limit of 13+ for debit cards. Their documentation calls out having to be over 13 for this functionality. So I am guessing if you call them and ask them to do this because he is 11, they won’t because it will break some law somewhere or at least their established policy for the service. More on reddit.com

Apple Cash is intended for users over the age of 18 or as part of Apple Cash Family for users aged 13-under 18. Apple Cash Family requires a member of your iCloud family group to register your account with them acting as an authorizer for legal purposes. Note that Apple Cash Family transactions are not private and can be viewed by the authorizer and other adult members that the family group organizer has authorized to view transactions. Apple Cash Family will convert to a standard Apple Cash account upon turning 18. A ssn is standard for the verification process as it is required under federal law to verify your identity. More on reddit.com