We see multitude of issues with our customers. And they started around November 2019. Those who try to enrol anew spend anything between 2 to 8 weeks trying to pay membership fees. Typically only 1 in 10 submissions will work first time.
They have tried everything: new apple ids, existing apple ids with purchase history, credit and debit cards linked to iTunes, cards from different banks - all to no effect. Both private (sole traders) and company enrolments fail. For company enrolments they pass verification calls and allowed to "pay" - sarcasm intended.
Every time after a payment submission comes an email with 'processing of order may take up to 2 business days' and then nothing. No further comms about problems, no attempts to charge the debit or credit card - absolutely nothing.
If they log a query with support via developer's web site, they receive a case number and standard response like this one:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hello YYYYYYY,
My name is ***
with Apple Developer Program Support. I’m contacting you regarding your recent question.
We have been unable to obtain payment for your recent Apple Developer purchase. Please contact your financial institution for more information.
If you cannot resolve the issue through your financial institution and have received confirmation from Apple that your order could not be completed, you may place a new order using a different payment method. To prevent further issues, please follow these steps:
• Use the latest version of Safari and clear cache and cookies before accessing the payment page.
• Before placing the new order, notify your financial institution that you are expecting a charge from Apple and confirm that your billing information is accurate.
• Be sure to use a payment method that is accepted for developer purchases in your region, as presented during the purchase process.
• Confirm that all payment details match the information on file with your financial institution when submitting the new order.
Thank you for your understanding.
If you have additional questions please feel free to respond to this email.
For your reference, your case is XXXXXXXXXX.
>>>>>>>>>>>
This is a total ****** response because not even an attempt has been made to charge the card.
The same story repeats itself with existing customers who are trying to renew their membership, both for private and company memberships. They submit payments again and again and then nothing happens. Apple support keeps referring to alleged financial institution problems. Meanwhile membership expires and end users are left hanging high and dry, with their apps not renewed and their wallet passes dead.
I myself recently tried to extend my membership for my Russian company's account. Tried with two credit cards - one issued by a Russian bank and another issued by a well-known European bank. Both submissions failed exactly the same way as described above - no attempt to charge any of the cards and no comms from Apple about any problems.
Then in few days I used the same European credit card to extend membership for my European company. And miracle happened! My European card was charged straight away and in 30 seconds my membership has been extended. I thought something must've changed in the global process and I rushed to try to renew my Russian company's membership with the same European credit card. And got the same old story - no attempt to charge the card and as the result - expired membership.
So the payment process at Apple is highly selective by country it seems. In Europe it works like a clockwork. In Russia (and in some other countries, judging by the posts in this thread) it it seriously flawed affecting hundreds of developers, both independent and companies. But more important, it affects hundreds of thousands of their respective customers who cannot get an updated app or functional passes in their Apple Wallet.
It is time for Apple to start listening to groans and moans from the developer's community and fix the problem. It's being long overdue. I appreciate that Apple may be busy with transitioning away from x86 and designing new emojis but without keeping developers and end users happy nothing good will come out in long run.
Thanks for your patience reading such a long post.
