I would like to add an additional payment method to the one on family sharing for individual purposes . how do I do that?

I would like to add an additional payment method to the one on family sharing for individual purposes . how do I do that?

Posted on Apr 14, 2023 6:33 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 14, 2023 6:38 AM

I am not clear as to your purpose in doing this.


If you simply want a backup payment method, this document explains how to add a payment method to your Apple ID on a Mac, Apple mobile devices, PC, or online. Click here --> Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Apple Support


If your intent is you want a payment method for yourself and a different one for family members, the short answer is only one person, the Organizer, can (and must) have a card, but the Organizer can avoid having this charged by others by having others make sure they have adequate personal balance to cover their purchases. Other family members can only pay for things by using their personal balance or by letting the remainder automatically roll over to the Organizer's payment method (but not the Organizer's personal account balance).


The alternative is described in this document: Add a family member to your shared subscriptions - Apple Support

"If you're the family organizer and you don't want to pay for family members' purchases and subscriptions, you can turn off Purchase Sharing [ How to share purchases with your family - Apple Support ]. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, everyone must use their own payment method. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, family members can share subscriptions, but they can't share individual purchases like apps or books."


=Full details=

From: How to share purchases with your family - How to share purchases with your family - Apple Support

"When you turn on purchase sharing, everyone in your family gets access to apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books that family members buy. The family organizer is billed for family members' purchases."

Ideally the second sentence would also mention that others can still pay for their own items, they just have to use personal account balance to do so (it is mentioned if you go to the tiny footnote near the bottom of the page and follow the link there). Turning on purchase sharing simply activates the feature whereby if a family member does not have adequate personal balance to pay for something then the organizer's payment method (e.g., credit card) will be charged.

Read the document for the link to "learn how purchases are billed if a family member has Apple ID balance" ( How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support ). This tells you how it works. Essentially the payment method for Family Sharing is automatic:


1. If anybody in the family buys or subscribes to something, Apple first attempts to charge the item to that individual's Apple Account (Apple ID) balance, if any.

2. If a family member does not have enough personal Apple Account balance, any excess will be charged to the Family Organizer's primary payment method (usually a card of some kind). The Organizer's personal balance will not be used for purchases made by other family members. If it cannot bill the primary payment method, the Organizer will need to make another payment method the primary method.


Also note: "Some purchases, including gifts, can't be billed to Apple ID balance and will be charged to the family organizer's payment method." "Some subscriptions might not be charged to Apple ID balance."


Ref:

- Family purchases and payments - How to share purchases with your family - Apple Support

- How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support

- Check your Apple ID balance - Check your Apple Account balance - Apple Support

- Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Apple Support

Adding funds to your Apple ID balance:

- How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card - Apple Support

- Add money to your Apple Account balance - Apple Support



2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 14, 2023 6:38 AM in response to Evagugg

I am not clear as to your purpose in doing this.


If you simply want a backup payment method, this document explains how to add a payment method to your Apple ID on a Mac, Apple mobile devices, PC, or online. Click here --> Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Apple Support


If your intent is you want a payment method for yourself and a different one for family members, the short answer is only one person, the Organizer, can (and must) have a card, but the Organizer can avoid having this charged by others by having others make sure they have adequate personal balance to cover their purchases. Other family members can only pay for things by using their personal balance or by letting the remainder automatically roll over to the Organizer's payment method (but not the Organizer's personal account balance).


The alternative is described in this document: Add a family member to your shared subscriptions - Apple Support

"If you're the family organizer and you don't want to pay for family members' purchases and subscriptions, you can turn off Purchase Sharing [ How to share purchases with your family - Apple Support ]. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, everyone must use their own payment method. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, family members can share subscriptions, but they can't share individual purchases like apps or books."


=Full details=

From: How to share purchases with your family - How to share purchases with your family - Apple Support

"When you turn on purchase sharing, everyone in your family gets access to apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books that family members buy. The family organizer is billed for family members' purchases."

Ideally the second sentence would also mention that others can still pay for their own items, they just have to use personal account balance to do so (it is mentioned if you go to the tiny footnote near the bottom of the page and follow the link there). Turning on purchase sharing simply activates the feature whereby if a family member does not have adequate personal balance to pay for something then the organizer's payment method (e.g., credit card) will be charged.

Read the document for the link to "learn how purchases are billed if a family member has Apple ID balance" ( How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support ). This tells you how it works. Essentially the payment method for Family Sharing is automatic:


1. If anybody in the family buys or subscribes to something, Apple first attempts to charge the item to that individual's Apple Account (Apple ID) balance, if any.

2. If a family member does not have enough personal Apple Account balance, any excess will be charged to the Family Organizer's primary payment method (usually a card of some kind). The Organizer's personal balance will not be used for purchases made by other family members. If it cannot bill the primary payment method, the Organizer will need to make another payment method the primary method.


Also note: "Some purchases, including gifts, can't be billed to Apple ID balance and will be charged to the family organizer's payment method." "Some subscriptions might not be charged to Apple ID balance."


Ref:

- Family purchases and payments - How to share purchases with your family - Apple Support

- How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support

- Check your Apple ID balance - Check your Apple Account balance - Apple Support

- Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Apple Support

Adding funds to your Apple ID balance:

- How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card - Apple Support

- Add money to your Apple Account balance - Apple Support



Apr 14, 2023 6:41 AM in response to Evagugg

If you are a member of family sharing, the only payment method that can be on file is the organizer's card.

You can have your own payment method with your Apple Account balance.

See -> Make sure that each family member has a unique Apple ID

Make sure that each family member has a unique Apple ID - Apple Support

 

When you purchase something from the App Store or iTunes Store, the charges will be deducted from your Apple Account balance, before the organizer's credit card is charged.


See the Apple articles below:

What you can buy with your Apple Gift Card or Apple Account balance

What you can buy with your Apple Gift Card or Apple Account balance – Apple Support (UK)

  • You can't use your Apple Account balance to send gifts or gift cards.
  • Some purchases might require you to have a credit card on file, even if you use your Apple Account balance to make the purchase.


How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card

How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card – Apple Support (UK)

 

When redeeming a gift card, (1) the amount will be credited to your Apple Account balance and (2) then you need to set your Apple Account balance as your default payment.


(1) See -> Check your Apple Account balance -> Check your Apple Account balance – Apple Support (UK)


(2) See -> Add a payment method to your Apple ID > Add a payment method to your Apple ID – Apple Support (UK)


If you already use your Apple Account balance, the Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card is automatically added to your Apple Account balance.


Where to buy a physical Apple gift card:

Actually, you can buy an Apple gift card at many places, it depends of course on where you live.

At an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Reseller in your region certainly, but also at a good bookstore, supermarket and/or drugstore.


Also read the articles below ⤵️

If you can't redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes Gift Card

If you can't redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes Gift Card - Apple Support

check. ⤵️

Card is not valid

Card has already been redeemed

Card is not activated

Code is unreadable

Code must be redeemed in a different country or region

  • You can't redeem Apple Gift Cards or App Store & iTunes Gift Cards outside the country or region of purchase. For example, if you bought an App Store & iTunes Gift Card in France, you can't redeem it in the App Store in the United States.

Contact Apple Support -> Contact Apple Support.

 

About Gift Card Scams -> About Gift Card Scams - Official Apple Support

 

Click here for more support and assistance.

 



I would like to add an additional payment method to the one on family sharing for individual purposes . how do I do that?

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