Convert iCloud Apple balance to cash

Your Apple Account balance, funded by gift cards or top-ups, cannot be converted to cash or transferred to a bank account. This is different from Apple Cash. Once funds are added to your Apple Account, they can only be used for purchases within the Apple ecosystem.

Not possible in most regions. The Apple Account is similar to a Gift Card balance where most regions don't allow that amount to be converted to cash. The reason is that the activity could be used to launder money and those reasons have strict regulations to prevent money laundering.

Servant of Cats wrote:

Scammers do have ways of turning stolen gift card funds into cash, but I'm sure that there is overhead, and that they do not get $1 in profit for every $1 stolen. If they could turn stolen gift card balances directly into cash – with no overhead fees – they would be in scammer heaven.

Correct, but a company, whether it is Target or Apple that is offering the Gift Card is not going to facilitate this money laundering venture by refunding Gift Cards, unless specifically required in that region. Gift Cards are untraceable which is part of the problem with money laundering, so if you want to sell one to a friend, Apple has no idea and there are websites that may even purchase them and sell to others, but that is another topic where scams are prevalent.

Yes, merchants love Gift Card sales because they are money up front and scammers love them because they are untraceable, just like cash.

Mac Jim ID wrote:

Not possible in most regions. The Apple Account is similar to a Gift Card balance where most regions don't allow that amount to be converted to cash. The reason is that the activity could be used to launder money and those reasons have strict regulations to prevent money laundering.

Aside from that, just about every merchant who offers gift cards loves the fact that it locks you in to spending the money only on their goods and services. Buy a Target gift card, Target doesn't need to worry about the recipient deciding to go shopping at Walmart instead. Plus, until the recipient spends the gift card balance, the merchant gets an interest-free loan. (Sometimes even a free loan plus inactivity fees!)

Even with the "cannot be redeemed for cash" limitation, scammers love gift cards, and often demand to be paid using gift card codes. The reason being that those things are a lot like cash, and once the victim sends them, it generally is not possible to "claw back" the money.

U. S. Federal Trade Commission - Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams

"Only scammers will tell you to buy a gift card, like a Google Play or Apple Card, and give them the numbers off the back of the card. No matter what they say, that’s a scam. No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them."

Scammers do have ways of turning stolen gift card funds into cash, but I'm sure that there is overhead, and that they do not get $1 in profit for every $1 stolen. If they could turn stolen gift card balances directly into cash – with no overhead fees – they would be in scammer heaven.