Hi masonwinn,
Welcome to the Apple Community.
Your Apple ID is the one account you use to access all Apple services,
such as the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime and more.
It seems Apple requires a valid payment method in your Apple ID account,
for the first time you use the App Store, or iTunes, even if you only download free apps.
First: Check the payment methods that you can use with your Apple ID: (Scroll down to find your country or region)
Payment methods that you can use with your Apple ID - Apple Support
Now you can:
Change, add, or remove Apple ID payment methods - Apple Support
After you have used the App Store or iTunes for the first time,
you can remove the payment method if you wish.
Hope this helps :)