New Delhi, July 7 -- After a gap of nearly five years, Apple has re-enabled credit and debit card payments for App Store purchases and subscriptions in India after complying with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) card tokenisation norms. For now, Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards can be added as a payment method to add funds to an Apple Account wallet, which can then be used to pay for app purchases and recurring subscriptions such as iCloud+. To be sure, direct App Store purchases using cards are still not supported and must be routed through the Apple Account wallet. The rollout is being done in phases and is expected to reach all Apple accounts in the coming days. UPI-based top-ups continue to be available. Support for RuPay cards is expected in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple had discontinued card payments in India after the RBI tightened payment security and data localisation requirements. Under the tokenisation framework, merchants must replace actual card details with a unique encrypted token instead of storing card numbers or expiry details, making digital transactions more secure. The restored support means users can once again use cards to seamlessly fund App Store purchases and recurring subscriptions without relying solely on UPI or gift card balances. The move, however, does not signal the launch of Apple Pay in India. Apple Pay is the company's contactless payment service that allows users to make in-store and online purchases using their devices. Recurring subscriptions will continue to operate under the RBI's e-mandate framework. Users must authenticate the initial registration with a one-time password, while recurring payments within RBI-prescribed limits are processed automatically after banks issue advance transaction alerts. Adding a card to an Apple Account also requires OTP-based authentication....