Apple Reintroduces Credit and Debit Card Payments for App Store in India; Check Details

Apple has officially resumed support for credit and debit card payments for App Store and iCloud transactions in India, marking the return of these payment methods after a nearly five-year hiatus. The tech giant had previously removed card payment support in 2021 following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) implementation of its card tokenisation mandate.

As per a report by MoneyControl, the company is currently testing this functionality with a select group of users before initiating a wider rollout in the coming months. Verification by Gadgets 360 has confirmed that these payment options are now appearing on the accounts of various users, allowing them to add supported cards for services including App Store purchases, in-app transactions, Apple Music, and iCloud+. Apple iPhone 18 Pro Design and Component Data Leaked in Tata Electronics Data Breach.

Compliance with RBI Tokenisation Mandate

The return of card payments follows Apple's compliance with the RBI’s strict tokenisation framework. The mandate prohibits merchants from storing actual customer card details, requiring them to be replaced by unique tokens. Furthermore, the framework stipulates that only authorised card networks may store tokenised data, which must be held locally within India.

To adhere to these requirements, Apple has reportedly decided against mirroring Indian tokenised payment data on its international servers located in the US, Denmark, or China. Despite the resumption of card payments, there remains no official information regarding the introduction of Apple Pay in the country, which has faced ongoing delays due to complex negotiations with domestic banks regarding commission structures.

Enhancing Payment Flexibility

For the past few years, Indian customers have been limited to using UPI, netbanking, or prepaid Apple ID balances for their subscriptions and digital purchases. The reintroduction of credit and debit card support provides users with greater flexibility for managing their digital transactions. iPhone 18 Pro India Launch Timeline and Expected Pricing Revealed.

While the feature is currently in a testing phase, Apple is expected to expand access to all users across the country shortly. Although the company has not yet issued a formal public statement regarding the resumption of these services, the successful integration of tokenised card data marks a significant update for Apple's service ecosystem in India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2026 05:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).