Apple restores card payments for Indian users after four-year hiatus

Apple has begun restoring card payments for Apple Account—Apple’s unified account system for services—purchases in India, ending a four-year hiatus. According to a person familiar with the matter, the company has made the back-end changes needed to support card payments under India’s regulatory framework. The change is rolling out in phases and is expected to expand to all eligible users over time. This phased rollout allows users in India to add eligible Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards to their Apple Account to pay for subscriptions such as iCloud+ and Apple Music, as well as App Store purchases.

The suspension of card payments occurred in May 2022, following a regulatory framework introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in 2021. The central bank’s framework, which was implemented in stages, required merchants and payment providers to adopt tokenized card credentials—a security method replacing card details with unique identifiers—and implement stronger customer authentication for recurring payments. The framework also prevented merchants from storing customers’ card details. This regulatory shift disrupted subscription billing for many domestic and international companies, forcing Apple to halt direct card payments in the country. Since the suspension, users in India have relied on UPI, India’s real-time payments network, net banking, and Apple Account balances for subscriptions and other digital purchases.

The return of card options addresses a key pain point for local consumers. “It’s long overdue but happening finally. This solves one of the friction points for subscription renewals,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research. The restoration of card payments is also likely to rekindle speculation about Apple Pay in India, though Apple has not announced plans to launch the mobile payment service there.

Why it matters

The development illustrates a broader challenge for Apple as governments globally impose country-specific rules on digital platforms. Increasingly, regulatory pressures in markets such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea are requiring the company to tailor its products, payments, and services to local frameworks rather than offering a uniform global experience.