Apple has reportedly started bringing back credit and debit card payments for App Store purchases and iCloud subscriptions in India, ending a payment gap that lasted for nearly five years. The feature is currently being rolled out to a small group of users and will gradually be made available to more customers over the coming months, reports Moneycontrol. Once the rollout is complete, users will once again be able to use eligible bank cards to buy apps, games, make in-app purchases, and pay for subscriptions like iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and other Apple services.
Notably, the iPhone maker had stopped accepting most credit and debit cards for these payments in 2021 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced new rules for card security. Under these rules, online merchants were no longer allowed to store customers’ actual card details. Instead, they had to use a system called card tokenisation, where the original card number is replaced with a unique encrypted digital token. This makes online payments more secure and reduces the risk of card information being stolen if a company’s systems are compromised. Since Apple had not fully updated its payment system to meet these rules, it removed direct card payments for Indian users.
During this period, Apple users in India had to rely on alternative payment methods like UPI, net banking and Apple Account balance for App Store purchases and subscriptions. Many users faced failed subscription renewals after their previously saved cards stopped working. Some had to manually add money to their Apple Account to continue using services like iCloud storage, while others switched to UPI for recurring payments.
Although Apple’s digital services remained available, the payment experience was less convenient than in many other countries where card payments continued without interruption. But now, the return of card payments suggests Apple has updated its systems to comply with the RBI’s tokenisation framework.
The development is important for Apple because India has become one of its fastest-growing markets. In recent years, the company has expanded iPhone manufacturing in the country, increased exports, opened its first official Apple Stores in Mumbai and Delhi, and invested heavily in growing its business in India. At the same time, Apple’s services business — including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud+, AppleCare and other subscriptions — has become one of the company’s biggest sources of recurring revenue globally.