Apple stops accepting debit, credit cards for subscriptions, app purchases in India

Apple appears to have stopped accepting credit and debit card payments for subscriptions and media on its platforms in India, in line with government regulations. Apple announced the changes in a support update in April, but it seems that the changes have now taken effect according to multiple reports and users on Twitter.

This means that you are no longer able to use your Indian credit or debit card to buy apps from the App Store, get Apple subscriptions such as iCloud+ and Apple Music, or purchase any media content from Apple. On the iPhone the subscriptions pages now shows denominations of INR 2000, INR 5000 and INR 10,000. You can also add a higher amount by clicking on ‘other’. The money can be added using net banking or UPI.

The change has come as a result of the new auto-debit rules from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that came into force last year and are disrupting recurring online transactions.

The change seems to be causing a lot of issues for customers previously reliant on subscription payments. Several Apple users have taken to Twitter to complain about the removal of the credit and debit card option from the payment methods Apple accepts in India for purchases using Apple ID. 

Apple is not alone in shifting its payments mechanism. Google is also one of the largely impacted companies due to the RBI update. A large number of its users are facing difficulties in making recurring payments and purchases via their cards on Google Play and YouTube. 

So now for subscribing to Apple One plan which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud plus with extra storage you will have to pay using your Apple ID balance.