Developers complain about issues renewing Apple Developer subscriptions outside the US [U]

Update: a new report suggests that the problem is caused by paying the subscription with a virtual card number. Developers should try using the regular card number instead.

Some developers are experiencing issues with the Apple Developer Program subscription outside the United States, according to reports on the web. The problem is preventing people from enrolling in the Apple Developer Program for the first time, or even renewing an existing account.

Based on posts from the Apple Developer Forum, developers have been facing subscription issues since last year, and in most cases it affects people outside the US. Apparently Apple is rejecting foreign credit cards in the Apple Developer Program subscription process, resulting in the account not being activated or renewed.

Purchases were canceled instantly, so developers are unable to complete the registration process. Some of them even tried to use different credit cards, but none were accepted by Apple.

The company told some developers that they should contact the bank to solve the problem, but they were informed that there are no issues with their cards, as the transaction was refused by Apple.

This problem seems to be major because it refers to many developers. Faced it myself, I conducted investigation around developer communities and I have read a lot of developer troubleshoot reports from Russia who are unable to enroll Apple Developer Program because of payment impossibility. […] Banks keep answering that they did not receive any payment requests, while Apple Support continue answering about problems from bank side with advice check billing information.

Developers from different countries told 9to5Mac that they were affected by the Apple Developer Program enrollment problem, and some of them have yet to receive a solution from Apple.

“There wasn’t even an attempt to charge my card. […] I called Apple Support again and they didn’t answer me back,” said a developer.

However, not everyone has been affected, as some developers have been able to recently renew or subscribe to the Apple Developer Program with a foreign credit card. Even so, with multiple similar reports, Apple should investigate this issue immediately, as not renewing an existing account can result in all developer apps being removed from the App Store.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on the problem. We’ll update our coverage if we hear back from the company.

Have you experienced any issues with your Apple Developer Program subscription? Let us know in the comments section below.