Do you need a debit or credit card to set up apple pay

No. Apple pay does not directly use Bank accounts. You need a debit card or credit card you can add to Apple Pay to make use of it.

If you mean Apple Cash, it is in and of itself a debit card, and does not need an additional debit card for anything, but can use a bank account directly to transfer funds to and from it.

click here ➜ Set up Apple Cash - Apple Support

Your Apple Wallet holds your cards. If you mean Apple Cash, you'll need a debit card to set it up.

I need a card number for Apple Pay

Fazegoated23 wrote:

I need a card number for Apple Pay

Yes, that's correct. You need a credit or debit card.