Pay iPhone subscriptions using Apple balance only

"Some subscriptions might not be charged to your Apple Account balance."

• How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support

As you can see, I have twice posted lines from Apple's support pages where they indicate a card may be required to be present even if it is not charged in the end.

Apple makes the terms as it sees fit, and a card requirement is not unique to Apple. Try renting a car or booking a hotel without a credit card. You can in fact ultimately pay with cash but they will insist upon having a card on record. Yes, it is tough on a segment of the population but unless you can convince your government to require differently, that's the way things are.

One workaround is to see if you can become part of a Family Sharing group where the Organizer has a card. How to set up Family Sharing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac - Apple Support

Tony_Online wrote:

If Apple requires a real credit card to maintain an account, then it needs to be specified in the terms of the agreement.

They do kind of.

Remove a payment method from your Apple Account - Apple Support

--> "If you have subscriptions like iCloud+, you must keep at least one payment method on file."

Consider yourself fortunate that they accepted a prepaid card. From what I have read on the forums that is not typically accepted as a credit or debit card.

Tony_Online wrote:

I was able to take out a subscription using a prepaid credit card. However my subscription auto renewed and it resulted in outstanding subscription fees. Upon accessing my purchase history, it tells me “billing problem”.

Bottom line, I was not told that I required a real credit card, debit card or PayPal prior to obtaining my Apple iPhone account. So my only means of payment is either a prepaid credit card or my Apple balance amount which has enough to pay off my outstanding subscription fees.

So seeing that I am not required under contract with Apple to be in possession of a real credit card, debit card or PayPal, and there is some sort of Apple bug preventing my Apple balance funds from being used to settle my debt, the issue is on Apple, not on me. It’s their bug, not mine. If they won’t allow me to pay, then it’s out of my hands.

Hello ~ If you’re being told that you need a credit card …then you need a credit card. If not paid your account will remain disabled in all likelihood. Have you contacted Apple?

~Katana-San~

This Support article lists valid payment methods – but doesn't address the question of whether you can get away without having any credit card or debit card registered, if you want to take out subscriptions or use the App Store.

Payment methods that you can use with your Apple Account - Apple Support

I was able to take out a subscription using a prepaid credit card. However my subscription auto renewed and it resulted in outstanding subscription fees. Upon accessing my purchase history, it tells me “billing problem”.

Bottom line, I was not told that I required a real credit card, debit card or PayPal prior to obtaining my Apple iPhone account. So my only means of payment is either a prepaid credit card or my Apple balance amount which has enough to pay off my outstanding subscription fees.

So seeing that I am not required under contract with Apple to be in possession of a real credit card, debit card or PayPal, and there is some sort of Apple bug preventing my Apple balance funds from being used to settle my debt, the issue is on Apple, not on me. It’s their bug, not mine. If they won’t allow me to pay, then it’s out of my hands.

No! It was not part of the contract! If Apple requires a real credit card to maintain an account, then it needs to be specified in the terms of the agreement. IT WAS NOT. So it’s on them. I’m not losing sleep because of an Apple bug that won’t allow me to pay my outstanding subscription fees using my Apple balance funds. It’s their bug, let them worry about it.

Tony_Online wrote:

No! It was not part of the contract! If Apple requires a real credit card to maintain an account, then it needs to be specified in the terms of the agreement. IT WAS NOT. So it’s on them. I’m not losing sleep because of an Apple bug that won’t allow me to pay my outstanding subscription fees using my Apple balance funds. It’s their bug, let them worry about it.

Hello once more ~ Please don’t lash out at me for telling you what needs to be done. I can guarantee you that I will not lose any sleep nor invest any more time in your issue. Wade through this …

Legal - Apple Media Services - Apple

~Katana-San~

Tony_Online wrote:

No! It was not part of the contract! If Apple requires a real credit card to maintain an account, then it needs to be specified in the terms of the agreement. IT WAS NOT. So it’s on them. I’m not losing sleep because of an Apple bug that won’t allow me to pay my outstanding subscription fees using my Apple balance funds. It’s their bug, let them worry about it.

Contract? What contract? If you want to play in Apple's world, you play by their rules, but there is NO contract we sign to play in the first place. You've been provided a link specifying the payment methods you can use. Either meet the requirement or don't. Arguing your position with only other users on this user to user only forum is a total waste of your time.

Argue with Apple if you want. They're not here, nor will they see anything you've posted here.

Um, creating an Apple Account requires agreeing to Apple's standard iCloud Terms & Conditions and Media Services terms digitally on your iphone. Nowhere there does it mention anything about credit card requirements. Lots of folks have bad credit and are unable to obtain a credit card. If a real credit card is required to pay for outstanding subscription fees for a subscription that was purchased with a prepaid credit card, then Apple is out of luck as many of us do not own a credit card.

Tony_Online wrote:

Um, creating an Apple Account requires agreeing to Apple's standard iCloud Terms & Conditions and Media Services terms digitally on your iphone. Nowhere there does it mention anything about credit card requirements. Lots of folks have bad credit and are unable to obtain a credit card. If a real credit card is required to pay for outstanding subscription fees for a subscription that was purchased with a prepaid credit card, then Apple is out of luck as many of us do not own a credit card.

Again, WHY are you arguing this with us? iCloud Accounts are but just one service. There are lot's of other services Apple has rules for, like the App Store, including what payment methods they accept. Either comply or don't play. We simply don't care what you do or whether you can or can't use the App Store, pay for your subscriptions or pretty much anything else you may need to do to have full access to all of the services on your iPhone. It doesn't matter to us in the least.

Argue with Apple and please stop wasting your and our time by arguing this with us, your fellow users.

You can use this link to share your thoughts with Apple directly --> Product Feedback - Apple

Tony_Online wrote:

Lashing out? That’s just plain silly. Specifying that I’m not losing sleep due to a major oversight on Apple’s side is not lashing out. Why would you think that?

Hello again ~When you type in all caps here …it is considered shouting. You would know that if you read the agreement that you entered into in order to participate here as well as the etiquette guideline. I simply stated a fact and as a volunteer…it would be nice for a “thank you” to be offered.

~Katana-San~

Whoops … I often use CAPS, sorry about that. Didn’t realize that it could be misinterpreted. Also, thank you for your advice, it’s very much appreciated.

I still find it very peculiar to allow someone to get a subscription using a prepaid credit card, but not allow said person the option of paying auto renewal fees for the same subscription with a prepaid credit card or even using funds which are part of the Apple balance. I figured out a workaround to keep using the App Store, so at the end if Apple wants it’s subscription fees, it will need to take them from my Apple balance account.

Lashing out? That’s just plain silly. Specifying that I’m not losing sleep due to a major oversight on Apple’s side is not lashing out. Why would you think that?

Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated!