TD Ameritrade Enables Instant Brokerage Account Funding Via Apple Pay

TD Ameritrade, the Omaha, Nebraska online brokerage, announced Tuesday (Jan. 15) that it now enables customers to instantly fund a brokerage account with Apple Pay via an Apple Business Chat in the Messages app on iPhone and iPad.

In a press release, TD Ameritrade said it was the first in the industry to do this, noting that to fund brokerage accounts, investors typically have to wait for several days while the funds are verified or sent via a wire transfer. With the new service, an investor’s account can be funded instantaneous through Apply Pay.

“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, in the press release. “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.”

With a debit card, customers can deposit as much as $10,000 a day via Apple Pay by using Apple Business Chat.

TD Ameritrade said it has been using Apple Business Chat as a messing channel since 2018, and opted to add funding via Apple Pay since 75 percent of its customers are iOS users.

With the initial launch, users can deposit with Apple Business Chat in the Messages app, but in the future, TD Ameritrade said it plans to extend the use of Apple Pay to its website and mobile apps.

The company noted that the ability to fund a brokerage account via Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 and later, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad (5th Generation), iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 and later.

“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, in the same press release. “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.”