All the Accepted Payment Methods on Google Play Store [Ultimate List]

Google Play Store evolved from Android market in 2012 and is now home to over two million apps, movies and books. Today, you can purchase apps and other digital content from the Google Play using a wide variety of methods. Google keeps adding a new payment method every once a while to make sure that apps and other content are made accessible to everyone. However, it can be little confusing to figure out what payment methods are available in your country. So, I decided to scoop through the Google help pages and list all the accepted payment methods on the Play Store:

Check If Paid Apps Are Available in Your Country

First, the rudimentary step is to make sure that the ability to buy apps is available in your country. I have put together a list of countries where you can officially buy apps from the Play Store. The current list includes more than 134 countries, so it’s highly possible that paid apps are available in your country.

Note: Google keeps adding support for new countries. In the rare case, your country is not listed, you may want to check back again later. I’ll try my best to keep this list updated.

Now that you’ve verified that your country is supported, we shall proceed to learn all the accepted payment methods on the Play Store in your country. But before that, an important question must be answered.

How to Add a Payment Method?

There are two ways to add a payment method — from the Play Store app and the Play Store web interface. First, let’s see how to add a payment method from Play Store app:

•  Open the Play Store on your Android device. In the app, tap on the hamburger menu.

• In the drawer that opens up, tap on “Account“.

•  Now, click on the “+” floating button on the lower right side of the screen.

Here, you can see all the payment methods you can add.

You can also add a new payment method from the Play Store web interface as described below:

• Head over to the Play Store website and click on “Account” from the left-hand sidebar. Next, click on “Add a payment method“.

Google Play Payment Methods:

Now that we’ve learnt the basics of adding a payment method, let’s see what are the accepted payment methods on the Play Store:

1. Credit and Debit Cards

The Play Store supports the following types of credit/debit cards:

• American Express
• MasterCard
• Visa
• Discover (US only)
• JCB (Japan and US only)
• Visa Electron (Outside the US only)

Note:

• Brazil: Play Store doesn’t support any type of debit card, Elo credit cards are supported, though.

• India: Most of the Indian debit cards rely on 3D secure/verified by Visa which is unsupported on international merchants, including Play Store. Only a few Indian debit cards from banks like Axis bank, ICICI bank etc. work on the Play Store.

2. Direct Carrier Billing

In 2014, Google introduced a new carrier billing option, wherein making any purchases from Play Store will be charged to your phone carrier’s bill. Google has been actively working with carriers worldwide to bring direct carrier billing to as many countries as possible. As of now, direct carrier billing is available in about 45 countries. You can search below and see if your country is supported. Supported carriers are mentioned on the right side.

3. Gift Cards

Play Store gift cards date way back to late 2012, but the country support was very limited back then. Gift cards are available in about 30 countries as of now. Type in your country name to see if gift cards are available in your country.

These gift cards are available in various denominations and you can buy them directly from various retail partners. See the supported retail partners in your country here.

• To redeem a gift card, open Play Store on your device. Next, tap on hamburger menu icon.

• Next, click on “Redeem“.

• Enter the code from your gift card here.

You can also redeem your gift card from the web interface. To redeem using the web interface:

• Head over to the Play Store website and click on “Redeem” from the left-hand sidebar.

• You should enter the code from your gift card in this pop-up window.

4. Google Wallet Balance

Google Wallet is Google’s mobile payment system which allows you to store the digital version of your credit or debit cards securely on your phone. Wallet eliminates the need to store plastic version of your debit or credit cards. Since the Google Wallet service is available only in the US and the UK, buying apps from the Play Store is also limited to these countries. Eventually, as Wallet launches in more countries, we may be able to buy from the Play Store using it.

5. PayPal

Google expanded the payment option for the Play Store by adding PayPal in 2014. So, if you have already linked your bank account with PayPal, it makes sense to purchase apps, books, music using PayPal. You can now purchase digital content from the Play Store using PayPal in about 22 countries while of writing. Below is a list of countries where paying via PayPal is supported. Again, use the search option to see if your country is supported.

Unsupported Payment Methods

Google Play doesn’t support payment through the old school wire transfer/bank transfer or the Western Union. Also, using Virtual Credit Card (VCC) is not officially supported, although it may or may not work. I used to purchase content on the Play Store using Entropay, but users have reported that using VCC may result in the transaction method being declined. Using VCC a couple of years ago made sense, but Google offers a lot of alternate payment methods now.

SEE ALSO: 15 Google Play Tips and Tricks To Make The Most Out Of It

Which Google Play Store Payment Method do You Prefer?

I hope this list saves you from the hassle of flipping through the Google Play support pages. I’ll try my best to keep the list of supported countries up-to-date. If you happen to notice a newly supported country, just comment below and I shall add it to the list. Meanwhile, could you let me know what is your preferred payment method on the Play Store?