Do we want to buy an app on the phone or tablet? Let’s see how to add a credit card to the official Android and Apple stores
Although the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store are full of free apps, the most beautiful and complete ones are often available for a fee or hide in-app purchases, which are necessary to unlock all the functions (such as remove advertising, continue level or unlock new arenas and new weapons in games).
If so far we have only installed free apps and do not know how to buy an app, you have come to the right guide: here we will show you how to add a credit card on Google Play and Apple Store, so you can authorize payments and buy the apps that we like them or unlock features via in-app purchases.
Although in the guide we will talk about credit cards in general, it is important to note that you can use any card that supports the Mastercard and Visa circuits , therefore including prepaid cards and ATMs enabled for online purchases.
READ ALSO: How to Request Refunds on the App Store .
How to add credit card on smartphone or tablet
For the guide we will refer to the most popular app stores at the moment, namely Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, both with full support for credit cards issued by Italian banks or by the Italian Post Office (including the famous Postepay).
If we do not have a credit card or are a minor, in one of the chapters we will also show you how to replace the credit card with other alternative payment methods.
Add credit card on Google Play Store
To add a credit card on an Android smartphone or tablet, open the Google Play Store app , press the icon with the three horizontal lines at the top right and then on the Payment methods menu .
In the new screen that will appear, click on Add credit or debit card and enter all the data required to continue: card number, expiry date and security code (CVV2, usually present on the back of the same). At the end of the data entry we confirm and await the addition of the new payment method to the Store.
Alternatively, we can add the credit card to the Google account associated with the mobile device by opening the Settings app , pressing the Google menu , selecting the Account Services menu and finally pressing on Google Pay .
In the screen that opens, press the + symbol and add the credit card in our possession, as seen a little while ago.
By adding the card in Google Pay it will become available as a payment method on all Google services (obviously including the Play Store), as well as being able to pay contactless in physical stores and pay online on enabled services.
To learn more about the use of Google Pay on our Android phone or tablet, please refer to the guide How to pay with Google Pay and PostePay using your smartphone .
Add credit card on Apple App Store
If we have an iPhone or an iPad and want to add a credit card, all we have to do is open the App Store, press the icon of our Apple profile at the top right, press the account name, then press Manage payments. and finally on Add payment method .
In the new screen, click on Credit card / Debit card and provide all the required data: card number, expiration date and security code (CVV2).
We may be asked for a password or confirmation via Face ID or Touch ID: we pass this security check and finally press Finish to add the payment method to the App Store.
Alternatively, we can add a credit card to the Apple ID account by starting the Settings app , pressing the Wallet and Apple Pay item and pressing Add card .
A new screen will open where you can click on Continue and enter all the credit card details we want to use.
After the addition we will be able to pay in-app purchases directly with Apple Pay, but also benefit from contactless payments in authorized points of sale and in stores, without having to pull out the card every time (just authorize the payment with Touch ID or Face ID at appropriate time).
Alternative methods to credit cards
Don’t have a credit card or prepaid card to add to your phone or tablet? In this case we can use one of the alternative payment methods supported by both the Apple Store and the Google Play Store and listed below:
- PayPal
- Purchase App via SIM residual credit
- Paysafecard code
- Gift card code
We have created some themed guides on these alternative payment methods, all we have to do is click on the payment method we are interested in and read all the details shown, so as not to necessarily use a credit card.
We want to get a prepaid credit card but don’t know which one to choose? We can get an idea by viewing the offers for prepaid cards in our article Best prepaid cards to buy online without risk .
Conclusions
Although we can live very well with the free apps available on Android and iPhone / iPad, if we find an app that we like very much and that we want to buy we will necessarily have to add a credit card or a prepaid card, so that we can proceed with purchase the desired app in complete safety.
We can’t tell if the app we like is paid or free? We can find out the nature of the app by reading the tips in our guide How to tell if an app is free or paid .
If, on the other hand, we want to keep an eye on the apps purchased and possibly ask for a refund for those purchased by mistake, you will find all the details on how to proceed in our in-app and app purchase control guides on the Google, Apple and Windows stores .
