Apple has begun restoring card payments for Apple Account purchases in India, more than four years after withdrawing the option, marking another step in the company’s efforts to adapt its services to the country’s evolving regulatory environment.
The phased rollout enables eligible users to add Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards to their Apple Accounts for subscriptions such as iCloud+ and Apple Music, as well as purchases made through the App Store.
Apple suspended card payments in India in May 2022 after changes to the country’s recurring payments regulations made it necessary for merchants to overhaul their payment systems. Since then, customers have relied on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), net banking and Apple Account balances to pay for digital services.
The move reflects the broader challenge facing Apple as governments increasingly introduce market-specific regulations, compelling the company to tailor its products, payment systems and digital services to local requirements rather than maintaining a uniform global approach. Similar regulatory pressures have prompted changes to the App Store in Europe, while reforms in Japan and South Korea have also influenced app distribution and payment practices.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Apple has completed the necessary back-end upgrades to comply with India’s payment framework, paving the way for the return of card payments. The rollout is expected to expand gradually to all eligible users, and the company has already updated its support documentation to reflect the change.
Introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in 2021 and implemented in stages, the revised framework requires stronger customer authentication for recurring card transactions, the use of tokenised card credentials, and prohibits merchants from storing customers’ card details. The changes initially disrupted subscription billing for many domestic and international businesses before they updated their systems.
”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.
Although Apple’s services business in India has continued to record double-digit growth despite the absence of direct card payments, restoring the option is expected to improve convenience as the company’s user base continues to expand.
The development is also likely to reignite speculation over the possible launch of Apple Pay in India, following earlier reports that the company had explored introducing the service. Apple, however, has not announced any plans to roll out its mobile payment platform in the country.
