Save your Apple Pay purchases in tambo.
Set up an Apple Shortcuts automation once. When you pay by tapping your iPhone with a selected Wallet card, the expense is saved to the tambo account you chose.
Before you start
You need an iPhone running iOS 17 or later, tambo 1.1.1 or later, the Shortcuts app and a payment card in Wallet. Open tambo at least once and create the account where you want to save expenses.
Add the Tambo shortcutThe shortcut already has the amount, merchant and currency set up. After adding it, open it and change Account in Save expense to your own Tambo account. Create a Wallet automation with your cards and Run Immediately. Add Run Shortcut, choose the shortcut you added and pass Shortcut Input to it.
Go to the stepsFull video
49 seconds. Pause at any point and enable English, Spanish or Portuguese captions.
The video and screenshots use Shortcuts in English. Some option names and locations may vary with your language and iOS version.
Step-by-step setup
1. Create a Wallet automation
Open Shortcuts → Automation. Tap + or New Automation and find Wallet. In some iOS versions, the trigger is called Transaction.
00:02 · Enlarge screenshot 2. Choose your cards and run immediately
Select the payment cards you want to track. To record all their payments, keep all merchant categories selected and leave Filter Merchants empty. Choose Run Immediately. If Notify When Run appears, you can turn it off. Tap Next, then Create New Shortcut.
00:06 · Enlarge screenshot 3. Add the Save expense action
Search for tambo in the action list and choose Save expense. This action saves the expense without opening the app. Prefill expense only opens the form for you to complete. The automation receives the transaction as input. You will use that input to fill the expense fields.
00:14 · Enlarge screenshot 4. Use the transaction amount
Press and hold Amount in the action, tap Select Variable and choose Shortcut Input. Then tap the blue variable and select its Amount property. The field should contain the Amount variable, with no fixed number entered. Each payment will then save its own amount.
00:21 · Enlarge screenshot 5. Choose your tambo account
Tap Account and select the account where you want to save these payments. The account in the video is called Pato; choose your own account. Expand the action using the arrow next to the account to reveal Merchant and Currency.
00:24 · Enlarge screenshot 6. Pass the merchant name
Press and hold Merchant, choose Select Variable → Shortcut Input and tap the blue variable. Select the Merchant property. The field should show the Merchant variable so tambo receives the merchant for each transaction.
00:32 · Enlarge screenshot 7. Pass the currency code
In Currency, choose Shortcut Input as the variable and tap the blue variable. In the panel, change Type to Currency Amount, then select Currency Code. These are two separate selections: Currency Amount is the data type; Currency Code is the property sent to tambo. The completed field should show Currency Code. This passes a code such as ARS or USD, instead of a $ symbol or the entire transaction.
00:39 · Enlarge screenshot 00:43 · Enlarge screenshot 8. Save and check your automation
Check all four fields against the table, then tap the blue checkmark or Done. If Show When Run appears in the action options, turn it off to avoid an extra panel when it runs. After your next payment by tapping your iPhone with a selected card, open History in tambo and check the amount, merchant and currency. With Live Activities enabled, you will also see a brief confirmation in Dynamic Island or on your Lock Screen.
00:46 · Enlarge screenshot
Your completed fields
| tambo field | Value |
|---|---|
| Amount | Shortcut Input → Amount |
| Account | The tambo account you selected |
| Merchant | Shortcut Input → Merchant |
| Currency | Shortcut Input → Currency Amount → Currency Code |
If something goes wrong
tambo or Save expense is missing
Update tambo and open it at least once. Search again in the Shortcuts action list and check that you have created an account.
The editor’s ▶ button fails
That button does not receive a real Wallet transaction. To test saving without making a purchase, create a separate shortcut with Save expense, a test amount, your account, a merchant and a supported currency. Run it, then delete the test expense.
The expense has the wrong currency
Check that Currency uses the Currency Code variable. If you leave it empty, tambo may use the currency in the amount or the selected account’s currency.
The expense is saved but no confirmation appears
Check that Live Activities are allowed for tambo in your iPhone settings. Dynamic Island is only available on supported models. The expense still saves if Live Activities are disabled.
I want to stop saving these payments
In Shortcuts → Automation, open this automation and disable it, or delete that automation from the list.