Apple opened the iOS 27 public beta to anyone with a free Beta Software Program account on July 13, 2026, and one of the features people are actually installing it for has nothing to do with Siri or Photos. It’s a small, very specific money feature: point your iPhone at a restaurant receipt, tap the items you ate, and iOS builds Apple Cash requests for everyone else at the table — tax and tip already divided proportionally.
Apple showed this at WWDC in June 2026 and it is now testable in the beta. Here’s exactly how it works, what your iPhone needs, what it costs, and why nobody outside the US is getting it.
What the feature actually does
Apple calls it Split Bill with Apple Cash. The mechanic is straightforward: whoever paid the whole check captures the receipt, assigns line items to specific people, and iOS calculates each person’s share including their proportional cut of sales tax and tip. Those amounts become Apple Cash payment requests you can fire off from Wallet or from a Messages thread.
Three things make it more than a calculator app with a nicer coat of paint:
- It reads the receipt. Siri mode in the Camera app recognizes that you’re pointing at a receipt and surfaces the split action on its own, then pulls out individual line items — not just the total.
- It’s wired into the payment rail. There’s no “here’s what you owe, now go open Venmo” step. The requests are real Apple Cash requests.
- Apple Watch approves. People on the receiving end can approve the request from their wrist instead of digging out a phone.
You can also start from a photo already in your library or use it via Visual Intelligence on something on-screen — handy for a receipt someone texted you after the fact.
Which iPhones support it
This is where most people get tripped up, because there are two separate compatibility questions and they have different answers.
| Requirement | What’s needed |
|---|---|
| Run iOS 27 at all | iPhone 11 or later, plus iPhone SE (2nd generation and later) — the same lineup that ran iOS 26 |
| Run Apple Intelligence / Siri mode | iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 or later (including 16e, 17 series, iPhone Air) |
| Use Split Bill with Apple Cash | Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone (or eligible iPad), and a US-based Apple Cash account |
So an iPhone 13 will happily install the iOS 27 public beta and get the faster animations and app launches — but the receipt scanner simply won’t appear. Apple’s own footnote on the feature is blunt: it’s “only available in the U.S. on eligible iPhone and iPad devices” and “requires Siri AI on an Apple Intelligence-enabled device.”
How to use it, step by step
- Install the iOS 27 public beta: enroll your Apple Account at beta.apple.com, then go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and pick the iOS 27 Public Beta.
- Make sure Apple Cash is set up in Wallet and your identity is verified with Green Dot Bank. Unverified accounts hit much lower ceilings.
- Pay the bill, then open the Camera app and switch to Siri mode. Point it at the receipt — flat, well-lit, whole receipt in frame.
- Tap the Split Bill with Apple Cash action when it appears. Wallet opens with the parsed line items.
- Assign items to people from your contacts. Shared appetizers can be split across several people.
- Review the calculated shares — tax and tip are apportioned automatically — then choose Request to send Apple Cash requests, or Pay Your Share if someone else covered it.
A worked example
Say four of you eat out. Subtotal $128.40, sales tax at 8.875% adds $11.40, and you leave a 20% tip on the subtotal ($25.68). Total on the card: $165.48.
That means every dollar of food carries about $1.2888 of real cost once tax and tip are layered on ($165.48 ÷ $128.40).
- Alex had a $32.00 entrée and a $9.00 drink = $41.00 in items → requested: $52.84
- Priya had $26.50 in items → requested: $34.15
- Sam had $30.90 in items → requested: $39.82
- You keep the remaining $30.00 of items → your share: $38.67
The four shares add back to $165.48. Compare that to a flat four-way split at $41.37 each — Alex would have underpaid by $11.47 and Priya would have overpaid by $7.22. That gap is the whole point of the feature.
What it costs and where the limits sit
Splitting the bill is free. Moving the money can cost you, depending on how you fund and how fast you withdraw.
| Action | Cost or limit |
|---|---|
| Send/request via Apple Cash balance or debit card | Free |
| Fund a payment with a credit card | 3% transaction fee (plus whatever your issuer treats it as) |
| Standard transfer to your bank | Free, 1–3 business days |
| Instant Transfer to a debit card | 1.7% of the amount, minimum $0.25, maximum $25 (raised from 1.5%/$15 cap on February 18, 2026) |
| Minimum per payment | $1 |
| Maximum per message (verified) | $10,000 |
| Rolling 7-day send limit (verified) | $20,000 |
| Bank/debit transfer out | $10,000 per transfer, $20,000 per 7 days |
Two practical notes from the example above. First, if someone’s share lands under $1 — a shared $3 side dish split four ways — Apple Cash can’t send it. Round up or absorb it. Second, that $52.84 request costs Alex nothing to pay from a debit card, but if you Instant Transfer the whole $127 you collected out to your bank, the 1.7% fee takes $2.16. Standard transfer costs zero and lands in a day or three.
Why it’s US-only
The restriction isn’t about language models or camera hardware. It’s about who holds the money. Apple Cash is a stored-value account issued by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC — a US bank operating under US money-transmission and FDIC rules. Apple doesn’t hold your balance; Green Dot does, which is why the account requires identity verification and why Apple Cash has always been limited to the 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico.
A receipt-scanning bill splitter is useless without a payment rail underneath it, and Apple has no equivalent of Green Dot in the UK, Canada, Australia, or the EU. Building one means a banking partner, a licence, and KYC/AML compliance in every market — a multi-year regulatory project, not a software toggle. Apple Pay works in dozens of countries because it’s just a wrapper around your existing card; Apple Cash is an actual account, and accounts are jurisdictional.
So if you’re outside the US, iOS 27 will still install and Siri mode will still read receipts — you just won’t get the Apple Cash action. The realistic workaround is scanning the receipt for the item breakdown and settling through whatever local app you already use.
Beta reality check
This is pre-release software touching real money. Public beta builds have been arriving roughly weekly through July. A few sensible precautions:
- Back up to a computer (archived) before installing — iCloud backups from iOS 27 can’t be restored to iOS 26.
- Don’t put the beta on the phone you need working at 8am Monday.
- Sanity-check the parsed totals against the paper receipt before sending requests. OCR misreads happen, and Apple Cash payments to another person are generally not reversible once accepted.
- Faded thermal receipts, crumpled paper, and handwritten tip lines are the failure cases. Photograph the receipt before it lives in your pocket for an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the other people at the table need iOS 27?
No. They receive a standard Apple Cash request, so any iPhone with Apple Cash set up can pay it. Only the person scanning the receipt needs iOS 27 on an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone. People without Apple Cash at all will need to be settled up another way.
Does it handle tip and tax correctly if the tip was added after the fact?
It apportions whatever it reads on the receipt, so a tip written on the merchant copy after you photographed it won’t be included. Capture the final receipt with the tip line filled in, or adjust the amounts in Wallet before sending.
Can I use it if I’m under 18?
Only through Apple Cash Family. A family organizer can set up an Apple Cash account for someone under 18 as part of Family Sharing, though some features that require a supported payment card may not be available. A standalone Apple Cash account requires being 18 and a US resident.
When does this ship for everyone?
Apple hasn’t given a date beyond the usual pattern — iOS releases have shipped alongside new iPhones in September. Until then it’s beta-only, and features can change or be pulled before the final build.
The bottom line
Split Bill with Apple Cash is the rare Apple Intelligence feature with an obvious, boring, useful job: it kills the group-chat math argument. If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, a verified Apple Cash account, and a spare device for beta software, it’s genuinely worth testing. If you’re on an older iPhone or outside the US, iOS 27 has plenty else to offer — just not this. Keep an eye on the Instant Transfer fee if you’re the one collecting; the free 1–3 day transfer is almost always the better call.
WalletWisp is informational only and not financial advice. Fees, limits, and beta features change — verify current details with Apple before you rely on them.
