Apple no longer accepting credit or debit card payments in India

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion
Customers in India will need to fund their Apple ID balance if they wish to purchase apps, media, or subscriptions through Apple.

Image Credit: Apple
Image Credit: Apple


In October 2021, a ruling passed by the Reserve Bank of India made it so banks, financial institutions, and "gateways" would need to require approval before completing credit and debit card transactions for auto-renewable subscriptions.

According to the mandate, merchants must obtain user approval through transaction notifications, e-mandates, and Additional Factors of Authentication (AFA). Banks or card issuers will decline transactions that do not meet the directive's requirements.

Because of this regulatory change, users in India will not be able to purchase apps from the App Store, subscribe to Apple TV+ or Apple Music, or buy movies or shows through iTunes with a credit or debit card.

Customers are now starting to see service interruptions, according to The News Minute, as spotted by 9to5Mac.

To prevent seeing interruptions to their subscriptions, users will need to fund their Apple ID balance, Apple's support site explains.
Regulatory requirements in India apply to the processing of recurring transactions. If you hold an Indian debit or credit card and you have a subscription, these changes impact your transactions. Some transactions might be declined by banks and card issuers.

To continue enjoying your subscriptions, you can pay with your Apple ID balance. You can add to your Apple ID balance using App Store Codes, Net Banking, and UPI.
In addition to encouraging developers to warn customers about the change, Apple ran a promotion that gave customers in India chance to add funds to their Apple ID to receive a 20% bonus.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,572member
    An Inconvenient Rule.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,167member
    Regulators. Try to fix one problem here and create another other there.

    just as well they aren’t building a house.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    sreesree Posts: 152member
    22july2013 said:
    An Inconvenient Rule.
    Cards are anyway on the way out in India.
    India is the world leader in digital payment systems, so this will just accelerate that even more. Most people have moved significantly away from cards.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Just another example of you think you have problem now, just wait till you see the solution the government comes up with.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,053member
    sree said:
    An Inconvenient Rule.
    Cards are anyway on the way out in India.
    India is the world leader in digital payment systems, so this will just accelerate that even more. Most people have moved significantly away from cards.
    The way it reads is that this has nothing to do with using a physical CC (or debit card). It has to do with payment systems that bills your CC (or debit card) automatically. Even if that CC (or debit card) is what's being billed with a "digital payment system".

    For instance, if one was using Google Wallet to automatically bill a debit card on file, to pay monthly for a 200GB Google One cloud storage account, Google can not process that payment until it's approved by the card holder, every month. The same would be true if Amazon was billing you every month for a Prime account, using a CC you have on file with them. Amazon could not process that payment until the subscriber approve that billing, every month. Plus Apple can not just bill the CC you have on file with an iTunes account, for an app purchase or IAP when you click on "Pay with iTunes". You would need to approve each purchase with the CC issuer.  However, if you keep a balance in your iTunes account like for instance from redeeming gift cards, then Apple can withdraw the payment from that balance. What Apple can't do is automactically charge your CC, until you approve that individual purchase. 

    I have auto CC billing with my Netflix account. Netflix bill my CC every month, without me having to approve it, every month. With my FasTrak account use for paying bridge tolls (without stopping), they will automatically bill my CC on file for $25, when ever the balance drops below $15. This might be every 2 or 3 months. Depending on how often I cross a toll bridge. But I don't have to approve the charge with my CC issuer, every time.


    Now it also reads that this only applies to CC and debit cards issued by banks in India. If the CC or debit card in your "digital payment system" is issued by a US bank or other banks that don't have this "Inconvenient Rule", then you can use it to automatically pay recurring bills or any bill, without having to personally approve it every time.       

    With Walgreens, I have a CC on file where I can pay for my prescriptions by just telling the pharmacist to bill it to my "Express Pay". The pharmacist just tap a button on his computer terminal and then hands me a receipt. In India, I would need to input a password or PIN or sign for the purchase on the POS terminal or approve the purchase by way of an email notification using my smartphone. This, from the ... "world leader in digital payment system"? 
    edited May 2022 mike1
  • Reply 6 of 10
    MonstieurMonstieur Posts: 8member
    davidw said:
    In India, I would need to input a password or PIN or sign for the purchase on the POS terminal or approve the purchase by way of an email notification using my smartphone. This, from the ... "world leader in digital payment system"? 
    This is an artificial restriction when the business is based in India. Foreign businesses can bill Indian credit cards freely, even in Indian rupees. e.g. Shopping on Amazon.com vs Amazon.in.
    edited May 2022
  • Reply 7 of 10
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,572member
    I would have expected the government of India to be helping its own citizens, rather than force its citizens to pay in advance and lose the interest on money that they already own. And if they die with a balance on their iTunes account, who keeps the money?
  • Reply 8 of 10
    muthuk_vanalingammuthuk_vanalingam Posts: 1,333member
    I would have expected the government of India to be helping its own citizens, rather than force its citizens to pay in advance and lose the interest on money that they already own. And if they die with a balance on their iTunes account, who keeps the money?
    Just FYI - Reserve Bank of India and government of India are two different entities. The government of India does not care about safeguarding the people's money. But, Reserve Bank of India is interested in safeguarding the money of common people living in my country, which is why they have come up with this rule. There were MANY cases of fraudulent charges posted in the credit cards of people wherever auto-charge was enabled (particularly long after the subscription/service was unsubscribed by the users of credit cards and it was a hassle to reverse the charges). This is primarily a fraud prevention mechanism, at the cost of convenience. I am fine with that and I believe majority of the people living in this country are fine with that too.
    pscooter63
  • Reply 9 of 10
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    22july2013 said:
    An Inconvenient Rule.

    Not really.  It's actually a very good rule.  It keeps companies from auto-billing things that you aren't expecting, like the time a friend of mine had her Sprint cell service set to auto-bill, and they goofed and charged her several hundred dollars more than she was expecting or actually owed.  Her mortgage payment bounced, it took months to get it all straightened out.

    Apple is just being a jerk about it, all they have to do is make sure each payment gets confirmed rather than just blasting a charge through.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 10 of 10
    DangDaveDangDave Posts: 98member
    sree said:
    22july2013 said:
    An Inconvenient Rule.
    Cards are anyway on the way out in India.
    India is the world leader in digital payment systems, so this will just accelerate that even more. Most people have moved significantly away from cards.
    A high percentage of people in India are unbanked and obviously could care less about credit and debit cards. They pay their utility bills, other bills, and day to day purchases from their mobile phones. They are way ahead of the rest of the world as stated above. There are definitely some advantages to India’s new regulations, but  there are trade offs. 
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