Automatically Log Apple Pay Transactions in Lode

This setup uses Lode’s Add Transaction shortcut action. It reads the Apple Pay amount, merchant, and date from the Wallet automation, then creates an expense in Lode and tries to match the category automatically.

On iOS 27 there is a second way: logging payments from your bank’s notifications. It covers every card payment and income too, not just tap-to-pay, and is set up once per bank. Use one of the two per card — with both on the same card, a tap-to-pay purchase is usually logged twice. Lode only catches the copy when both name the merchant the same way within about two minutes.

Requirements

• iPhone with iOS 18 or later
• Apple Pay set up with at least one card
• Lode installed
• At least one account already created in Lode
• iPad and Mac are not supported: the automation fires when a card is tapped, which needs the NFC hardware only an iPhone has.

Quick setup (iOS 27 and later)

On iOS 27 an automation is a shortcut with a trigger inside it, which means the whole thing can be handed over ready-made. You can also open this straight from the app: Settings → Automation, the Apple Pay segment.

1. Open Lode — Apple Pay on your iPhone and tap Add Shortcut.
2. It arrives switched off. In Shortcuts open Library → Automation and turn it on.
3. If you keep several accounts in Lode, open the Add Transaction action and set Account to the one this card belongs to. With a single account it is picked automatically. You can also narrow the trigger from Any Card to specific cards.

The ready-made automation already has the amount, merchant and date mapped, runs immediately, and stays silent — nothing else to configure.

iOS 27 only. On earlier versions the file still imports, but the payment values arrive as Unknown Variable and nothing is logged — those versions store the trigger differently. On iOS 18–26 use the manual setup below.

Paying with more than one card? Download it once per card, then narrow each copy to a single card and set its account.

Manual setup (iOS 18–26)

These steps describe the Shortcuts app before iOS 27, where automations live in their own tab. On iOS 27 use the quick setup above.

Step 1. Create a new automation

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.
2. Open the Automation tab.
3. Tap +.
4. Select Wallet.

Step 2. Choose the Wallet trigger

1. Select the card you want to track.
2. Select the payment categories you want the automation to react to.
3. Set the automation to Run Immediately.
4. Turn off Notify When Run.
5. Tap Next.

Step 3. Add the Lode action

1. Tap Create New Shortcut.
2. Search for Lode.
3. Select Add Transaction.

Step 4. Pass the Apple Pay data to Lode

Now map the Wallet values into the Lode action.

Set Amount:

1. Tap the Amount field.
2. Tap Select Variable.
3. Choose Shortcut Input.
4. Tap Shortcut Input again and select Amount.

Set Merchant:

1. Tap the Merchant field.
2. Tap Select Variable.
3. Choose Shortcut Input.
4. Tap Shortcut Input again and select Merchant.

Set Date:

1. Tap the Date field.
2. Tap Current Date.
3. Leave the Default settings.

Set Account:

1. Tap the Account field.
2. Choose the Lode account that matches this card.

This step is important. Setting the account manually is the most reliable setup.

Step 5. Final shortcut settings

Show When Run is optional. It controls whether you see a confirmation after each payment:

• Off — Lode logs the transaction silently in the background (recommended for hands-free tracking).
• On — you get a confirmation each time you pay.

Either way the transaction is saved.

Tap Done to save the shortcut.

Tap Done again to save the automation.

You’re all set. The next time you pay with Apple Pay using that card, Lode will try to save the transaction automatically.

How it works

Every time you pay with Apple Pay using the selected card:

1. The Wallet automation runs automatically.
2. Apple Pay sends the transaction data into the Add Transaction action.
3. Lode reads the amount, infers the currency when possible, and uses your selected account as the fallback currency.
4. If the payment is one of your bills — its merchant at about its price, around its due date — Lode records it as that bill’s payment instead of adding a second row. When it only might be, Lode logs the payment and asks whether to link it to the bill.
5. Otherwise Lode picks the category: the one you last moved this merchant to, if you have, or else the closest match for the merchant name among your expense categories.
6. Lode saves the transaction to the account you selected, with the merchant as its note.
7. If the automation fires twice for one payment, Lode skips the duplicate — as long as the two arrive within about two minutes of each other.

If no category fits the merchant, the payment goes to your catch-all category — Misc in the default set.

Notifications

A silent automation has no screen of its own, so Lode’s notification is the only thing you see. It reports the account, the amount, the merchant and the category it chose, and tapping it opens that exact transaction.

It also tells you when a payment was not saved — an amount it could not read, a cross-currency payment once the free monthly conversions are used up, or one with no exchange rate available — and tapping it lets you add the payment by hand. Without notifications those failures are invisible and your ledger is quietly wrong, so allow them when Lode asks, or turn them on in Settings → Automation.

Tips

• Create one automation per card and set the Account field explicitly in each one.
• Setting the Account field explicitly is the most reliable setup — Lode does not read your Wallet card name.
• Unlock your iPhone before tapping to pay. Wallet automations are more reliable when the phone is already unlocked.

Important notes

• This setup creates expense transactions only.
• Category selection is based on the merchant name and your existing expense categories in Lode.
• If the account currency differs from the payment currency, Lode will try to convert the amount before saving. On the free plan this uses one of your 5 free conversions a month — once they’re used up, cross-currency payments aren’t saved (Lode’s notification says so) until next month, unless you upgrade to Premium or use an account in the same currency as the card.
• Some merchants, terminals, online checkouts, or card providers may not trigger the Wallet automation consistently. This is a Shortcuts limitation, not a Lode-specific one.

Troubleshooting

Nothing happens after importing the ready-made automation

• An imported automation is switched off until you turn it on. Open Library → Automation in Shortcuts and check its switch.
• The ready-made automation needs iOS 27. On earlier versions the payment values show as Unknown Variable — set it up manually instead.

The automation does not run

• Make sure the automation is set to Run Immediately.
• Make sure Notify When Run is turned off and the automation is enabled.
• Unlock your phone before paying.
• Check that you paid with the same card selected in the automation.
• Test again with an in-store Apple Pay payment. Some online flows do not trigger Wallet automations reliably.

The transaction is not saved

• Make sure the shortcut action is Add Transaction.
• Check that the Amount field is mapped from Shortcut Input -> Amount.
• Read Lode’s notification: it says why a payment wasn’t saved.
• Check the Account you chose: a shared account you can only view doesn’t take new transactions, and this case comes without a notification. Set Account to one of your own.

The wrong account is used

• Open the shortcut and set the Account field manually to the correct Lode account.
• If you leave Account empty, Lode uses the first available account, which may be the wrong one. Always set Account manually.

The wrong category is used

• Lode chooses a category from your existing expense categories based on the merchant name.
• Move the transaction to the right category once — Lode remembers that merchant and files its next payments there. You can review what it learned in Settings → Automation → Remembered Merchants.
• Rename categories to be clearer if similar merchants keep landing in the wrong place.

The amount or currency is wrong

• Re-check that Amount is mapped to Shortcut Input -> Amount.
• Check that the selected Account in Lode uses the currency you expect for this card.

Questions? Reach out — we’re happy to help.