contactless payment
The mobile payment system and electronic wallet Apple Pay was introduced on September 9, 2014 along with the iPhone 6. In Russia, the service began to work two years later and lasted about 5.5 years. Users love to pay for purchases in physical stores this way using NFC and online meters so much that some have switched to Android after the service was shut down completely in March 2022. Despite Google Pay being disabled, many alternative contactless payment services remain within it.
iPhone users may no longer carry a debit card with them. For this, it is sufficient to have an application belonging to your own bank on your smartphone and to pay using QR codes that you can either scan from the terminal screen yourself or create, and then scan the code by the seller.
This method takes a little longer than regular NFC payment, but is more convenient and secure than carrying bank cards with you. In addition, many banks and shops offer additional discounts and promotions, encouraging users to pay in this way whenever possible.
In addition, NFC stickers are now appearing in Russia, which can be glued to a smartphone, a case and even a button phone. In fact, this is a small debit card with support for contactless payments managed using a banking application. All in all, this is another viable alternative to Apple Pay.
However, a full-fledged Russian replacement of Apple Pay is not yet expected. Unlike Google with Android, Apple restricts third-party developers access to the NFC module. There are reports in the media that antitrust authorities in different countries are demanding that Apple allow contactless payments for Apple Pay and third-party services, but so far no firm action has been taken.
It is also important to note that if the camera of the smartphone is broken, it will be impossible to pay for the purchase or the trip home, so paying with a sticker seems to be the most convenient way.
Pay for purchases and subscriptions in the App Store
At the same time, the restriction in the work of Apple Pay affected users of “subscription services” and lovers of paid applications – they lost convenient payment methods for purchases. However, as it turned out, Apple did not completely ban Russians from depositing money – it probably deliberately left loopholes, as the company continues to take a 30% commission on every purchase.
There are several ways to purchase apps and pay in the App Store, including using foreign debit cards. If they are not there, you can use a mobile number instead of a digital wallet – this method works with MTS and Beeline operators.
To do this, go to “Settings” – select the first section with the Apple ID parameters – “Payment and delivery” – “Add a payment method” – “Mobile phone”. Then you need to enter your number and that’s it – the user’s Apple ID is assigned to his profile and allows you to make any purchases in the digital store. The important thing is that the required amount is in the mobile phone account.
When using a foreign card, you will have to cancel your current subscriptions and wait for it to expire. However, this method is not very convenient – you have to say goodbye to music tracks used in Apple Music for years.
If you do not have MTS and Beeline SIM cards and there is no way to create a foreign bank card, there is another way – to buy App Store gift cards. There are many offers on the Internet. Gift cards of different denominations are available for Russian accounts: for example, a card for 1.5 thousand rubles. it will cost an average of 2 thousand rubles.
You should be careful when choosing gift cards – coupons for American or European accounts are incompatible with those in Russia. To do this, you need to buy exactly Russian gift cards, compatibility information is usually indicated in the product description.