I think this is one of the things that bugs me coming from BlackBerry to iPhone. Why require entering a credit card for free apps? Is there around this requirements? I am not comfortable giving out my credit card whenever some ask me too.
Apple uses the billing address of the credit card to determine if you are using the correct iTunes store for your country. The media is licensed by different publishers in each country, and the publishers want to make sure the royalties go to the right copyright owner.
Again, I'm NOT buying anything. I'm trying to install some free apps such as the eBay, Facebook, MySpace etc. apps for iPhone. It does not make sense to me to require credit card verification. For goodness' sake, I purchased the iPhone through Apple. They should have all my information.
As has been pointed out, the credit card information is not required for financial reasons, but merely because it is a simple way to verify your country of residence, which
is necessary for legal reasons.
Personally, I do not have a credit card linked to my iTunes Store account - I load it with iTunes gift cards and use the balance for purchases of music and apps.
Regarding this link:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534 Why do I have to create a new account? Why can't I use my existing account that I use to login here to post questions? I kept getting this error message when I use this account to login.
We could not complete your iTunes Store request. An unknown error occurred (2001). There was an error in the iTunes store. Please try again later.
I've tried three computers and I still receive this same error with existing account like the one I'm using in here.
As I was searching Google regarding this error message, I have seen that I'm not the only one that have seen this error message. Apparently it looks like Apple is not very helpful in resolving this issue.
Account created HERE will always prompt to enter payment method and you can't change it. That link (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534) that was given to you is the alternative solution suggested for you.
Bogus! What does one do if no credit card is available??
I signed up without one. They don't make it easy, but it can be done.
Youtube it.
Folks, it you don't have to enter a card number, and you never want to purchase apps, then don't use a credit card to sign up. There have been some folks that have gotten charged for free apps. It was a mistake, of course, but it can be a problem if it happens to you without your expecting it. Try bank charges for overdraft, or over credit limit charges on your credit card. The banks don't card why, and you might not get reimbursed for the fees.
