Basic | Getting Started

Understand payments and billing

Your Apple Search Ads app promotions won’t run until your account includes a valid payment method. You can add your credit card on the Billing page during the app promotion setup process.

If a charge to your credit card is declined for any reason, we’ll pause your ads and attempt to charge the same credit card again within 48 hours of the declined transaction. You’ll receive a warning email if this happens, as well as an alert in the status field of the dashboard.

If you add a replacement credit card to your account, we’ll charge the replacement credit card within 24 hours from the time the credit card information is updated. Once the transaction is authorized, your ads become eligible to appear in App Store search results again.

Note that if you plan to run ads on the App Store in multiple countries and regions, you should notify your credit card company to ensure that there won’t be any issues processing foreign transactions. Depending on where your ads run, you may see up to five different charges on your billing summary from five separate Apple entities.

In addition, as of September 2019, European legislation may require your bank to authenticate an online credit card transaction if your credit card is issued by a bank located in the European Economic Area. If so, you will be redirected to your bank to authenticate and complete the transaction.

By saving your credit card information, you agree that subsequent payments made toward your Apple Search Ads account may be initiated and charged by Apple. Such payments will be initiated and charged in accordance with the Apple Search Ads Terms of Service and the payment methods found here.

Which currencies are supported

You can set the currency for your account to any of the following:

Australian dollar (AUD)
British pound (GBP)
Canadian dollar (CAD)
Euro (EUR)
Japanese yen (JPY)
Mexican peso (MXN)
New Zealand dollar (NZD)
U.S. dollar (USD)

All spend and billing activity will occur in the currency you select.

Note that you can select only one currency per account, and once it’s set you can’t change it.

Which types of cards are considered valid payment methods

Apple Search Ads accepts Visa, Mastercard (including Apple Card), and American Express.

When you use Apple Card as your payment method for Apple Search Ads, you get 3% Daily Cash back. Apple Card is currently available to qualifying applicants in the United States. Learn more.

PIN-less and PIN-optional Visa and Mastercard debit cards are also accepted. Note that at this time, we cannot accept Maestro, Visa Plus, or Visa Electron brands. Your debit card daily spending limit must be able to cover your ad charges.

Cards from the following countries are not valid forms of payment: Austria, Chile, Cuba, Ghana, Hungary, Iran, Mauritius, North Korea, Philippines, Singapore.

Other invalid forms of payment include pre-paid cards, gift cards — including those branded Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — ATM cards, and digital wallets such as PayPal and Venmo.

Apple Search Ads doesn’t charge fees for credit card transactions, but credit card carriers may charge you foreign transaction fees. Please contact your credit card provider regarding when foreign transaction fees apply. Apple Search Ads will not reimburse or issue credits for charged foreign transaction fees.

How to change a credit card

To update a payment method:

Click your account name at the top right of the page.
Click Settings.
Go to the Billing page.
Click Edit Card.
Enter your new credit card information, and save it.

Note that you may only have one active credit card at a time for your account. You can change your credit card information only three times within a 24‑hour period.

How the billing cycle works

Apple Search Ads charges occur every $500 (U.S.) spent, or every seven days, whichever comes first. When you reach the billing threshold, you receive an email notification at the email address you specified when you set up your credit card for Apple Search Ads. You can also view and download your invoices on the Billing page.

Note that app promotions set up for multiple countries and regions may appear on more than one invoice or as more than one line item on an invoice, depending on the country or region where the ads run and the corresponding Apple billing entity. For example, a campaign that includes France and Japan will appear on invoices from Apple Distribution International and iTunes K.K.

How paused app promotions affect billing

A paused app promotion doesn’t delete your account or credit card information. The payment information you added to your account remains secure while your ad is paused, and will not be charged until your ad is reactivated.

Note that when you pause an app promotion, you may still see some ads running for a few hours.

How to review your transaction history

You can sign in to your account and review transaction details anytime. Here’s how:

Click your account name at the top right of the page.
Click Settings.
Go to the Billing page.
Go to the Invoices section of the page.
Click the specific invoice you’d like to see.

Your invoice will include the transaction period, campaign ID, campaign name, countries and regions, number of installs, and charges.