Apple Search Ads was renamed Apple Ads on April 14, 2025, and it remains Apple's advertising solution for promoting apps on the App Store. If you run campaigns, you need a valid payment card on file before your ads can charge. This guide explains what you need, how to add a Coinepay virtual card to your Apple Ads account, and what to check if a charge is declined.
Before you start, make sure you have registered with Coinepay and completed identity verification (KYC). You can create a Coinepay account and manage your cards from the iOS app or the Android app, where your card number, expiry date and CVV appear once the card is issued.
Important: check Apple's card rules first
Apple Ads lists the cards it accepts and the cards it does not. According to Apple's billing help, accepted cards include Visa, Mastercard (including Apple Card) and American Express, plus PIN-less and PIN-optional Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Apple states that it does not accept prepaid or gift cards, ATM cards, Visa Plus, or digital wallets such as PayPal and Venmo.
Because Apple restricts prepaid cards, the type of card you use matters. Before you spend time setting up a campaign, contact Coinepay support to confirm your card meets Apple's requirement for this purchase. There is also a regional rule worth knowing: in India, UPI is accepted for INR payments and cards issued by banks outside India can be used, but cards issued by banks inside India cannot be used directly.
What you'll need
- An Apple Account to sign in to Apple Ads.
- Your real business and tax details — Apple collects these during setup, and they must match your actual identity and billing information.
- A Coinepay virtual card with its number, expiry and CVV ready in the Coinepay app, and enough available balance to cover your spend.
- The billing address associated with your Coinepay card, entered exactly as it appears in your Coinepay profile.
Choose your Apple Ads solution
Apple offers two solutions, and the one you pick affects how you create campaigns, not how you add a card:
| Solution | Who it's for | How it charges |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Ads Advanced | Developers, advertisers and agencies | Per ad tap, up to your chosen bid; no published monthly budget cap |
| Apple Ads Basic | Developers | Per attributed install, up to your chosen maximum cost per install; up to US$10,000 per app per month, across up to 50 apps |
Apple does not publish a fixed subscription price or a country-by-country tap or install price for either solution — what you pay depends on your campaign activity and the limits you set, and auction prices vary. Check the official pricing details on ads.apple.com before you commit a budget.
Set up your account and add your card
- Go to the Apple Ads site. Start Advanced from the "Get Started" button, or start Basic from its Basic page.
- Sign in with your Apple Account.
- Enter your business and tax details and accept the advertising terms.
- Select your account currency. Supported currencies include AUD, GBP, CAD, EUR, JPY, MXN, NZD and USD (with RMB for mainland-China customers and INR for UPI customers). You can only choose one currency per account, and it cannot be changed after you select it, so pick the one that matches how you want to be billed.
- Set a payment method. Enter your Coinepay card number, expiry date, CVV and the billing address on file for the card.
- If a bank-authentication (3-D Secure) step appears, complete it. Approve the confirmation in your Coinepay app if prompted.
To change the card later, open your account name at the top right, then go to Settings → Billing → Payment Method and choose Replace. Only one payment method can be active at a time.
Launch a campaign and understand billing
With Basic, you select an eligible app and markets, set a monthly budget and a maximum cost per install, then create the promotion. If a valid payment method is already on file, the promotion starts running as soon as you create it. With Advanced, you build campaigns from the Campaigns dashboard.
Apple does not charge your card continuously. Charges are generally triggered when your spend reaches US$500 or after seven days (or ₹14,000 for INR campaigns), whichever comes first. If you advertise across multiple markets, you may see separate charges from different Apple entities. Keep enough balance on your Coinepay card to cover these billing events so your ads are not paused.
Monthly invoicing (a line of credit) is available only to some eligible Advanced advertisers whom Apple contacts directly; it is not something you can simply request, and it is unavailable in some locations.
Troubleshooting: why a card charge is declined
Apple's billing help documents several reasons a payment or registration can fail. Work through these if your card is rejected:
Insufficient balance or a low card limit
A charge can fail if your available balance does not cover it, or if a debit card's daily limit is too low for the amount Apple is trying to charge. Top up your Coinepay card in the app and confirm it has enough headroom for Apple's US$500 / seven-day (or ₹14,000) billing threshold.
Incorrect payment details or billing address mismatch
Double-check the card number, expiry, CVV and billing address. The address must match the one registered to your Coinepay card exactly — a mismatch is a common cause of an authorization failure. Correct any typo and save the method again.
Failed bank authentication (3-D Secure)
If the authentication step does not complete, the payment can be blocked. Browser extensions or pop-up blockers can interfere with the authentication window, so disable them and retry. Approve any confirmation Coinepay sends you promptly.
Unsupported payment method or issuer restriction
Apple rejects prepaid cards, gift cards, ATM cards, Visa Plus and digital wallets, and the card issuer can also impose its own restriction. If your Coinepay card is declined for this reason, contact Coinepay support to confirm the card is suitable for Apple Ads before trying again.
Merchant region checks
Apple publishes separate lists of eligible App Store advertising markets and eligible advertiser residences — being an eligible advertiser does not mean every market is open to you. Mainland-China advertising needs additional business and app approval. Make sure your account currency, markets and residence are all set correctly.
How Apple handles a decline
If a charge fails, Apple may pause your ads, retry the same method within 24 hours, or charge a replacement method within 24 hours after you add one. Apple states it cannot start a manual retry on request, so the fastest fix is to correct the issue and add or replace the card promptly.
Stopping spend and refunds
To stop Advanced spending, pause or remove campaigns from the Campaigns dashboard; paused ads may stay visible for a few hours. For Basic, set the promotion's status to Pause — note that a paused Basic promotion can still incur residual charges for installs attributed within its 30-day conversion window. Apple's terms do not state a general refund entitlement for stopping an auction-based campaign, so if you suspect a billing error, raise it with Apple Ads directly.
Get help
For Apple-side questions about plans, markets or billing thresholds, use Apple's official help on ads.apple.com. For anything about your Coinepay card — balance, billing address or whether your card suits this merchant — reach the team through the support page or on Telegram. You can also explore more guides on the Coinepay site.
Get your Coinepay virtual card: Sign up · App Store · Google Play · Customer support
FAQ
Does Apple Ads accept a Coinepay virtual card?
Apple Ads accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express, including PIN-less and PIN-optional debit, but it does not accept prepaid or gift cards. Contact Coinepay support to confirm your card meets Apple's requirement before you buy.
How does Apple Ads charge my card?
Charges are generally triggered when your spend reaches US$500 or after seven days (or ₹14,000 for INR campaigns), whichever comes first. Advertising across multiple markets may produce separate charges from different Apple entities.
Where do I change the payment card on Apple Ads?
Open your account name at the top right, then go to Settings → Billing → Payment Method and choose Replace. Only one payment method can be active at a time.
Why was my card declined on Apple Ads?
Common causes Apple lists are incorrect card details, a billing address mismatch, a failed 3-D Secure authentication, an unsupported card type, an issuer restriction, or a debit limit too low for the charge. Fix the issue and re-add the card, since Apple cannot start a manual retry.
Can I change my Apple Ads account currency later?
No. You choose one currency per account during setup from Apple's supported list, and it cannot be changed afterward, so select the currency that matches how you want to be billed.
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