Apple has announced the reinstatement of card payment options for users in India, specifically for purchases made on the App Store and iCloud. This development comes five years after the company withdrew card payments as a method for transactions on these platforms. The move indicates Apple’s intent to enhance the payment experience for its users in the country.

Testing Phase and Compliance

As reported by Moneycontrol, Apple is currently conducting tests with a select group of users to gauge the effectiveness of this reinstated system. The decision to reintroduce card payment functionality follows Apple’s alleged compliance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations regarding card tokenisation.

Before this change, Apple had suspended card payments in India in 2021 when the RBI’s tokenisation mandate was implemented. This left users primarily reliant on UPI and net banking for transactions. Some users had also been using prepaid Apple ID balances to fulfil their purchasing needs.

The RBI’s mandate stipulates that only card networks should maintain tokenised card data, which must be stored within India. Compliance with this regulation has facilitated Apple’s ability to re-enable card payments on its platforms for Indian users.

User Experience and Implementation

Once the feature is fully operational, users will be able to add their credit or debit cards via the payment and shipping settings on their iPhones or iPads. However, it is important to note that the feature is still undergoing testing, and a broader rollout to all users is expected in the coming months.

Additionally, it has been reported that Apple is collaborating with various banks and card networks to launch Apple Pay in India, which is believed to have influenced the timing of this card payment reinstatement. The introduction of Apple Pay has faced several challenges, as the company must adhere to the RBI’s requirements for tokenisation and local data storage.

Globally, Apple supports tokenised payment data through servers located in the United States, Denmark for the European Union, and China. However, it seems Apple is not planning to establish a data centre in India, which has led to its decision to not replicate the local storage of tokenised information required under RBI regulations.

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