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At the beginning of March 2022, Visa and Mastercard payment systems suspended their work in the Federation for the first time. It became impossible to pay with these cards in foreign online stores and pay for foreign services, including applications and subscriptions on Google Play. Only free applications remained available to owners of smartphones on the Android OS.
On May 5, Google released updates to the rules for using Google Play1. Since that day, users from Our Country have even been banned from updating any paid games and software from Google Play, and the Top Paid category has disappeared from the app store. At the same time, already installed software was allowed to be used, and all paid subscriptions will be valid until their expiration date. developers who need to release critical updates to their paid programs were offered to transfer their software to the free section. At the same time, Google promised to return to developers the money received from the sale of programs until May 5.
Mobile phone bill payment
The previously working payment method from a mobile phone number is now also unavailable.
This method worked until mid-March, but some users reported that it stopped working even earlier. You could pay as follows:
- go to the “Settings” of your Google Play account (icon with an avatar in the upper right corner);
- open the item “Payments and subscriptions”;
- select “Payment methods”;
- click “Add carrier”;
- enter your phone number (you can use any other for payments).
This procedure is suitable for MTS, Megafon and Beeline operators. Also note that this method does not work on all devices, in some modifications of the Android OS this feature is disabled.
Payment through a card of a foreign bank
For users from Our Country, there are now fewer and fewer secure ways to purchase paid applications and subscriptions. For example, through payment by a card of a foreign bank. But, to be honest, this method is too labor-intensive.
The user needs to delete all information about their past payment profiles from their Google account. Then create a new payment profile in another country (while using a different postal address, name and substitution of the desired IP address), issue a bank card of a foreign country and replenish its account at the exchange rate. This method should work.
Also, some services for the sale of digital keys offer to buy prepaid bank cards with the required amount of currency. Of course, the course will be very different. For example, a card with 5 US dollars will cost 900 rubles. At the same time, users will still need to mask their account through the substitution of the IP address of the smartphone. Well, like any “gray” deal, buying a prepaid card can turn into a banal deception of the user.
Pay with a Google Play Gift Certificate
Buying a prepaid bank card should not be confused with purchasing a Google Play gift certificate. It also tops up the internal account account for the specified amount of currency and works only for accounts of the country in which it was purchased. For example, a Turkish certificate will only work on a Google account originally created in Turkey. Gift certificates are currently not available in Our Country.
Popular questions and answers
The KP asked for answers to the most common questions from users Grigory Tsyganov, electronics repair service center specialist.
Can I upgrade a paid app purchased before the lock?
As for updates, they, like the subscription renewal, will not be available. The service has introduced severe restrictions on its work for users.
Sources of
- https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/11950272