If your payment method is declined in the App Store or iTunes Store - Apple Support (2024)

FAQs

How to fix App Store payment method declined? ›

There are a number of reasons the charge or verification might be declined: Apple is not allowed to accept credit or debit cards in your country. The card is not recognized in your country. Insufficient balance or account in arrears.

If your payment was declined on the iTunes Store, there could be various reasons, such as expired credit card details, insufficient funds, or sometimes even a minor system glitch.

Change your payment method

You have an unpaid balance because Apple was unable to charge your payment method for a previous purchase. Add a new, valid payment method, then remove the old payment method. The new payment method is charged automatically.

Your card may be declined for a number of reasons: the card has expired; you're over your credit limit; the card issuer sees suspicious activity that could be a sign of fraud; or a hotel, rental car company, or other business placed a block (or hold) on your card for its estimated total of your bill.

Remove the payment method, then add it back: Remove the declined payment method and then add it back on payments.google.com. Try a new card: Try to change to a different card with the “Fix payment method” button. If none of the above work, contact your card provider.

One common issue is that the billing information held by Apple Pay doesn't match that held by your bank. To check your card information, go to Settings and tap your name, then Payment & Shipping.

Please call 1-800-MY-APPLE and speak to an Apple Specialist for more information.

Some common reasons that your credit card might get declined include having the card's credit limit maxed out, accidentally triggering the card's fraud protections and even entering incorrect payment information on a website.

Why does Apple say this payment method Cannot be used with the iTunes store? ›

Re: “This payment method cannot be used in the iTunes store”. It is likely that, if Apple tries to charge your payment method your financial institution refuses to pay. As you have disputed a charge from Apple: Seems you may need to authorise your bank to allow your payments to Apple to proceed again.

You may need to remove and re-add your payment method to make sure you entered the information correctly. If your billing address doesn't match your payment method, the ZIP code is incorrect, or you're trying to use an expired card, you'll see a "Payment Not Completed" error.

There are a number of reasons the charge or verification might be declined: Apple is not allowed to accept credit or debit cards in your country. The card is not recognized in your country. Insufficient balance or account in arrears.

If you can't add a payment method

If you're using an accepted payment method but your Apple ID is set to a different country or region, change your country or region. If the Add button is grayed out, you might be in a Family Sharing group and you use purchase sharing.

Insufficient storage space on your iPhone is the most likely cause of a new app not downloading on your iPhone. Apps are notorious for taking up a lot of room on your phone, as are photos.

The terminal may be having issues, the merchant may have turned off Apple Pay, or the merchant's gateway provider is blocking it. It's even possible it's the Payment Network Operator (Visa, Mastercard etc.) that is blocking it. If the issue persists, contact your bank and explain the issue.

If you've ensured that your card meets all the requirements but you still get the error message, you can try removing the card from your account and adding it back. If the issue persists, you can reach out to the Shop support team so we can investigate further.

There are a few reasons why a customer's card might not work – whether their card has expired, they've spent too much on it, or the issuing bank thinks there might be suspicious activity, among other reasons. The first step to improve your payment success rate is to understand why payments are declined.

If the Add button is grayed out, you might be in a Family Sharing group and you use purchase sharing. Only the family organizer can have a payment method on file. If you want to use your own payment methods, turn off purchase sharing, then add your own payment method.