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why can't I use a Japanese credit card on the Canadian Apple Store?

patent10021

patent10021

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2004
3,563
842
It's almost 2015 and here in an age where there are tons of expats and business travellers and families with home bases in two countries it should be easy for me to use my Japanese credit card on the Canadian Apple store (I'm not talking about the app store) when I'm in Canada.

Instead I have to go to the Apple store, buy a $1,000.00 gift card with my Japanese credit card, go back to my apt and buy an unlocked iPhone online on Apple Canada.

AT LEAST have the option to buy the item on the Japanese Apple store with a Japanese credit card and have Apple Japan send that order to Apple Canada to fulfill.

It's no problem for me to use my Japanese credit card on any Amazon store in the world. They simply ask for your billing address.
 
Really? I've used my Danish Visa card on the Chinese Apple Store Online to buy an iPhone 6 plus.

I've also used it in-store in both Mainland and HK.

I remember when my bank called me, several years ago: "you purchased something worth $1000 from Germany, is that really you?". Nowadays I've purchased expensive things from every part of the globe, and they haven't ever called me again. Guess they're too stingy to pay the phone bill. Banks :rolleyes:
 
Fzang said:
Really? I've used my Danish Visa card on the Chinese Apple Store Online to buy an iPhone 6 plus.

I've also used it in-store in both Mainland and HK.

I remember when my bank called me, several years ago: "you purchased something worth $1000 from Germany, is that really you?". Nowadays I've purchased expensive things from every part of the globe, and they haven't ever called me again. Guess they're too stingy to pay the phone bill. Banks :rolleyes:
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Really? My banks don't have a problem with it. I buy stuff all the time everywhere with various cards. It's the Apple Store that's the problem because the billing address and Apple ID is only good for one country.

I'll try it again.
 
patent10021 said:
Really? My banks don't have a problem with it. I buy stuff all the time everywhere with various cards. It's the Apple Store that's the problem because the billing address and Apple ID is only good for one country.

I'll try it again.
Click to expand...

Can't you just use "new billing address" for that specific purchase? My billing address is Danish so I can use the Danish app store. I don't recall having ever changed it in China.

Who looks at the billing address anyway? The bank? I have several Chinese "billing addresses" but I explicitly told my bank I was going to live in China for 2 years.
 
Check with your bank to add your Canadian billing address in the account records.
I guess that the main reason is to provide "security" to the users.
 
lol

I want to use my Japanese credit card on the Canadian Apple Store.

Unfortunately this is impossible because obviously my Japanese credit card has a Japanese billing address and when it asks me to enter in a billing address on the Canadian Apple Store that billing address has to be a Canadian billing address.

All online Apple stores are like this.

Danish Apple Store needs a Danish billing address etc.

With some Japanese credit cards you can actually have an overseas address but that's no good for me because then I couldn't use that card on the online Japanese Apple Store.

The workaround is I have to go to the Apple Store in person and buy two $2000 gift cards using my Japanese credit card then go online back at my apt and buy the custom MacBook pro that way.


EDIT: what I DID do is I went ahead and just entered in my Japanese credit card number on the Canadian store with my CANADIAN address and it said it was processing my order.

But I think once they try charging my card at the time of shipping it will get declined. (I think).
 
wordoflife said:
Does paying with Paypal fix this issue?
Click to expand...

Not sure as I don't use PP.

I'll know in a few days when they ship my iPhone if they let my payment with a Japanese credit card and Canadian billing address slip through.

There's a good chance that the Japanese bank/credit card company might decline the payment because I had to use a Canadian billing address on Apple.ca for the transaction (even though I used the 3 digit security code).

Apple needs to let us enter in international billing addresses purely for the sake of us being able to use international credit cards. Because the billing address has nothing to do with buying a product on a store anyway.

Amazon is a good example. Amazon doesn't give a **** what I buy and what method I use, and what Amazon store I buy it from. That's why when I'm in Japan I buy presents on Amazon Canada for family members all the time with my Japanese Visa and then Amazon Canada fulfills it and ships it from Amazon Canada of course. Amazon has their **** together.
 
patent10021 said:
Not sure as I don't use PP.

I'll know in a few days when they ship my iPhone if they let my payment with a Japanese credit card and Canadian billing address slip through.

There's a good chance that the Japanese bank/credit card company might decline the payment because I had to use a Canadian billing address on Apple.ca for the transaction (even though I used the 3 digit security code).

Apple needs to let us enter in international billing addresses purely for the sake of us being able to use international credit cards. Because the billing address has nothing to do with buying a product on a store anyway.

Amazon is a good example. Amazon doesn't give a **** what I buy and what method I use, and what Amazon store I buy it from. That's why when I'm in Japan I buy presents on Amazon Canada for family members all the time with my Japanese Visa and then Amazon Canada fulfills it and ships it from Amazon Canada of course. Amazon has their **** together.
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If you got as far as you did, it should be fine. Apple will have already obtained authorisation.
 
Good news. It shipped this morning. I guess my Japanese bank was satisfied it wasn't fraud even though the billing address wasn't the Japanese billing address for that credit card. It could've been due to the fact that I called the bank before I left Japan to tell them I'll be using the card in Canada + you have to enter the credit card's 3 digit security code on the Apple Store. Probably also the fact that the banks know Apple purchases are safe. No PO boxes etc.
 

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patent10021 said:
Good news. It shipped this morning. I guess my Japanese bank was satisfied it wasn't fraud even though the billing address wasn't the Japanese billing address for that credit card. It could've been due to the fact that I called the bank before I left Japan to tell them I'll be using the card in Canada + you have to enter the credit card's 3 digit security code on the Apple Store. Probably also the fact that the banks know Apple purchases are safe. No PO boxes etc.
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Like I said, they'd already obtained authorisation from your Japanese bank :)
 
AllieNeko said:
Like I said, they'd already obtained authorisation from your Japanese bank :)
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Yeah but the point is I don't think it was authorize when I placed the order. It was only when they prepped for shipping did they get authorization (maybe last night) or a couple days prior because Apple doesn't charge the card until it ships. Who knows if they pre-auth it though.

The card since it was a valid number and security code simple went to the next stage in the ecommerce process. You can do this with credit card number generators. I don't think authorization wouldn't happen until it gets selected and prepped for shipping.

It does make you wonder why they ask for a credit card billing address since apparently it can be an address not related to the credit card. Sorta weird.

Holy crap! Just noticed the shipping date. Jan 02?!!! I ordered it last week and the cart said delivery between 7-10 days. Here I am expecting it like tomorrow. lol

I guess it's a FROM CHINA shipping estimate and not some warehouse in Canada. Dang.


.
 
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patent10021 said:
Interesting. So why would the bank accept an incorrect billing address? Isn't that unsafe?
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They probably don't use address verification service. To clarify the billing address is only verified when both the merchant and the issuing bank support and have enabled address verification.
 
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