Garmin Pay is the wallet for making contactless NFC payments through compatible Garmin smartwatches. Garmin Pay works in specific countries. And, it would work with specific cards and Banks. These financial instruments can be used to add balance to the Garmin Pay wallet.
In some cases, we have customers running into issues with Garmin Pay. They are unable to add cards to Garmin Pay after a reset of the watch. Or, they are unable to add cards to the Garmin Pay wallet after getting a new phone. And, in some cases, you may be unable to add the card to Garmin Pay wallet on an altogether new Garmin smartwatch. The issue seems to affect the Android linked smartwatches. iPhone devices do not seem to have such issues. Which, points to an issue on the app on the paired Android smartphone.
It may be pertinent to mention that this issue can happen on any Garmin device. In most cases, users have experienced problems after deleting the old card to add a new one on the Garmin Pay wallet.
We look at the best approach towards resolving the ‘unable to add card to Garmin Pay’.
Update firmware on Garmin watch to the latest version
Before embarking on any troubleshooting for Garmin Pay issues, it is suggested that you must install the latest firmware on your Garmin smartwatch. The latest software update can be applied to the watch through Garmin Express application on your computer. Alternatively, you can use the Garmin Connect app on the smartphone to download the software update and push it to the Garmin smartwatch. Once the firmware has been updated, do restart the Garmin smartwatch and the paired smartphone.
Check Garmin Pay compatibility with Banks
The first step needs to ensure that Garmin Pay is compatible with your Bank or the card that you intend to connect to Garmin Pay. Each country has specific Banks and cards that are compatible with Garmin Pay. So, we just need to make sure that Garmin Pay is supported by your Bank for the card type you are adding.
Check card details on Garmin Pay
This may sound silly. But, you may want to check the card details being added on Garmin Pay. Do you have the valid card details on the Garmin Pay screen? If you are entering invalid card details, you will never be able to get Garmin Pay to work.
Clear Cache and Application data on Garmin Connect
Garmin Pay uses Garmin Connect (on the paired smartphone) as an underlying basis for integration. There may be a case that you were able to use Garmin Pay earlier. But, you are unable to add a new card to the Garmin Pay app. In such cases, we need to clear the cache and application data from the Garmin Connect app.
You can clear the cache on Garmin Connect app through the ‘Settings’ option on the Garmin Connect app.
Reinstall Garmin Connect
We will reinstall the Garmin Connect app to force a refresh. However, before doing so, please do restart the paired smartphone. Upon restart the Garmin Connect can be reinstalled on the mobile phone. Garmin Connect for Android devices can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Garmin Connect for iPhone can be downloaded from the Apple app store.
After Garmin Connect has been reinstalled, please add the card to the Garmin Pay app. This should, in most cases, resolve the problems with adding a card to Garmin Pay.
Reset Passcode on Garmin Connect app
This solution will work if you had Garmin Pay running fine earlier. In other words, this solution will work when you are trying to add a new card to an earlier working Garmin Pay.
Resetting the passcode on Garmin Connect app can help in restoring Garmin Pay connection and integration with Garmin Connect on the smartphone.
Here is how you can reset the passcode for Garmin Pay on Garmin Connect as per the instructions below:
- From the device page in the Garmin Connect Mobile app, select Garmin Pay > Reset Passcode.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- The next time you pay using your device, you must enter the new passcode.
This solution will, however, work when you are trying to add a card on Garmin Pay that was working fine earlier.
Summary
Many Garmin users have reportedly run into issues when they are unable to add card to Garmin Pay wallet. These users did have a working Garmin Pay wallet earlier. In most cases, the issue can be traced back to issues with Garmin Connect and Garmin Pay integration.
- You need to clear cache of Garmin Connect
- Reinstall Garmin Connect
- Use a new passcode for Garmin Pay on Garmin Connect.
Apart from this, you need to make sure that the card being added to Garmin Pay is supported. And, it should be issued by a supporting Bank or financial institution.
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Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].