Apple India today announced that in light of upcoming Reserve Bank of India regulations, starting June 1, credit and debit cards can no longer be used for purchases or subscriptions on the App Store or other Apple services. Apple will no longer store card information on file as it says that protecting the user’s payment method is its top priority.
For those unaware, RBI made changes to the auto-debit rules last year. Moreover, the change comes due to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) new card storage regulations. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had directed that no entity or merchant, other than card issuers and card networks, should store card details — or card-on-file (CoF) — from January 1, 2022.
“With effect from January 1, 2022, no entity in the card transaction or payment chain, other than the card issuers and card networks, should store the actual card data. Any such data stored previously will be purged,” the RBI had said in a circular. As a solution, Apple says there are two things that you can do to avoid interruptions to your subscriptions and other purchases on App store in India:
- Add UPI or Net Banking as a payment method.
- Add funds to your Apple ID balance.
Your subscriptions will continue as long as you have a sufficient balance. If you are an Apple Music, TV+, iCloud+ or third-party subscriber and Apple cannot renew your subscription, your subscription will automatically expire.
Not only Apple but other majors such as Google also adapted to the new system of payments in India to follow RBI guidelines. “Due to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, automatic payments in India will be limited to ₹5,000 INR per transaction. The e-mandate notification also requires Google to set up an e-mandate for your card”, said Google on a support page.