Digital Apple Account Card in more countries

There are Apple products that have been available in the USA and other markets for years, but for unclear reasons have not made it to the rest of the world. These include the Apple Card credit card and the Apple Cash function, which can be used to send money quickly from person to person. There is now hope for a feature that has so far only been moderately international: the so-called Apple Account Card. This is a virtual credit card in Apple's Wallet that can be used to purchase various Apple products –, from apps in the App Store to service subscriptions and hardware in the Apple Retail Store –.

Apple credit directly in the Wallet

Apple's voucher system itself has been around in Europe for a little while now. Once known as iTunes credit for buying music and movies, it is now largely freely available Apple credit. It can be purchased in supermarkets using voucher cards or online. A code is used to redeem it, which represents a certain amount. Since 2022, Apple Credit has also been available in the form of the Apple Account Card in Apple Wallet, Apple's virtual wallet on iPhone, iPad and Mac, which also holds credit cards, loyalty cards and admission tickets. However, this was initially only implemented in the USA.

This is primarily a convenience feature: you no longer have to constantly go to the account settings (e.g. in the App Store) to see your balance, it is now shown directly in the wallet. You can also use it to pay directly in the Apple Retail Store by presenting the code of the virtual card. It is also possible to load credit onto the Apple Account Card directly in the Wallet using a debit or credit card, another convenient function that saves clicks.

Switzerland and Austria, Germany is missing

As the leak expert and developer Nicolas Alvarez wrote on X this week, the Apple Account Card will be rolled out in at least six more countries in the future. These are Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The function is apparently linked to a "future software update", but there has not yet been a direct release. In addition to the USA, only Canada, Japan and Australia have been supported so far.

It is unclear why the Apple Account Card is not also available in other EU countries such as Germany. As it is an internal payment system, Apple should not actually have any regulatory hurdles, especially as the use of credit via the Wallet simply makes an existing feature more convenient.

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