Resolved Using Apple Pay from an account in an unsupported region

[melvynadam]

My Apple IDs and accounts are somewhat complicated.
When I got my first Apple device, I setup an account in the UK app store. This was fine until I moved to Israel and it became clear that it was more logical for me to switch the region of my account to Israel. Because of some apps that only exist in the US app store, I also have an American account.

• When my region was UK, I enjoyed Apple Pay on my trips to England.
• Apple Pay has not launched in Israel yet and so I cannot activate it on my device.
• I'm about to fly to Italy where Apple Pay is widely accepted and would like to use it there (especially from my Apple Watch).

For those of you who've only got one account and have never had to switch, it's important that you know this: logging out of one account and then into another on your iPhone (AKA "Switching App Stores") forces a delete of all downloaded music. I like my library. It's highly annoying to lose it all and have to download it again.

So, my question is: am I missing something? Is there an easy way for me to (1) travel to Italy, (2) use Apple Pay with a UK credit card, and (3) not have to lose my music library?

 

[lartola]

My Apple IDs and accounts are somewhat complicated.
When I got my first Apple device, I setup an account in the UK app store. This was fine until I moved to Israel and it became clear that it was more logical for me to switch the region of my account to Israel. Because of some apps that only exist in the US app store, I also have an American account.

• When my region was UK, I enjoyed Apple Pay on my trips to England.
• Apple Pay has not launched in Israel yet and so I cannot activate it on my device.
• I'm about to fly to Italy where Apple Pay is widely accepted and would like to use it there (especially from my Apple Watch).

For those of you who've only got one account and have never had to switch, it's important that you know this: logging out of one account and then into another on your iPhone (AKA "Switching App Stores") forces a delete of all downloaded music. I like my library. It's highly annoying to lose it all and have to download it again.

So, my question is: am I missing something? Is there an easy way for me to (1) travel to Italy, (2) use Apple Pay with a UK credit card, and (3) not have to lose my music library?

I suggest you try changing the region on your iPhone and Apple Watch to either the US or the UK and restart your devices. This is done in settings>general>language and region for the iPhone and watch>general>language and region for the watch. That might enable the Apple Pay options in wallet, as well as other features such as TV, News, etc, without you having to switch apple ids. If it does, just add your cards and you're good to go. The added bonus of activating Apple Pay is that once it's set up you will also be able to use it back in Israel anywhere there is contactless payment. No specific support for Apple Pay is required for merchants to be able accept it, support is just required for banks to allow their customers to add their issued cards.

 

[melvynadam]

I suggest you try changing the region on your iPhone and Apple Watch to either the US or the UK and restart your devices.

You are correct that this is how I can use Apple Pay. But you've missed the part related to Apple Music.
I know I can setup Apple Pay quickly and easily. But I can't work out how to do so without losing my entire downloaded library.
My Apple Music subscription is through my Israeli app store account.
If I change the region on my 'main' iCloud account, I won't keep the Apple Music subscription to the Israeli Apple Music library. Also, I have family sharing on this account and one requirement for that is that all family members be in the same region.

 

[lartola]

You are correct that this is how I can use Apple Pay. But you've missed the part related to Apple Music.
I know I can setup Apple Pay quickly and easily. But I can't work out how to do so without losing my entire downloaded library.
My Apple Music subscription is through my Israeli app store account.
If I change the region on my 'main' iCloud account, I won't keep the Apple Music subscription to the Israeli Apple Music library. Also, I have family sharing on this account and one requirement for that is that all family members be in the same region.

No I didn't miss the part related to Apple Music, you're the one who is confused between Appstore/iCloud region and device region settings. They're two different settings entirely independent from each other.

Changing the device region setting, found in settings>general>language and region for iPhone and iPad or watch>general>language and region for Apple Watch, only modifies the region on the device itself where you're making the change, but not on your appstore/iCloud account or any other devices associated with your appstore/iCloud account. Therefore, changing the device region setting does not erase the music library nor does it affect family sharing or any other settings associated with your Appstore/iCloud account, but may still enable Apple Pay and other features on your devices for you.

The Appstore/iCloud region setting, on the other hand, is the one associated with your Appstore/iCloud account. That one can be found in the App Store or iCloud settings on your iPhone, and it does affect family sharing, music library, etc, if you modify it.

That's why I suggested you leave your Appstore/iCloud account intact and try changing only the device region on each of your devices to the US or UK. That way, you may be able to activate the Apple Pay options and other features such as News or TV without erasing your music library or losing your family sharing, since the device region is completely independent from your Appstore/iCloud account region but still does have the effect of enabling or disabling certain regional iOS features when you change it.

 

[melvynadam]

No I didn't miss the part related to Apple Music, you're the one who is confused between Appstore/iCloud region and device region settings.

You are 100% correct, and I was wrong. Thank you for clarifying and taking the time to help.
I changed the region in Settings>General and now I have Apple Pay setup on my phone and watch without losing my Music subscription or library. Perfect!

 

[lartola]

You are 100% correct, and I was wrong. Thank you for clarifying and taking the time to help.
I changed the region in Settings>General and now I have Apple Pay setup on my phone and watch without losing my Music subscription or library. Perfect!

Great to hear that. And you have the added bonus that, even if Apple Pay hasn't launched in Israel, you can still use it there anywhere contactless payment is accepted since Apple Pay acceptance by merchants doesn't require any specific support from the merchants or their payment provider banks. In other words, most people can't use Apple Pay in Israel only because they can't add their cards issued by the local banks there, but you should be able to do so anywhere in Israel where there is contactless payment because you already have Apple Pay setup on your devices with at least one card from a participating bank in a supported country.