Add a payment card to your Google account

First check your card can be used

Accepted cards follow Google’s list. Common ones:

• Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover credit or debit cards;
• accepted types vary by country and region — go by what the page shows when you add a card.

No suitable card? Buy a Google Play gift card to top up your balance and pay or subscribe with that.

Steps (computer or phone browser)

1. Open pay.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
2. Click “Payment methods” → “Add payment method” → “Add credit or debit card”.
3. Enter the card number, expiry, security code (3 digits on the back), cardholder name and billing address.
4. Save. Your bank may send a text code or ask you to confirm in its app.

Or add it in the Play Store on your phone

Open the Play Store → tap your profile picture → “Payments & subscriptions” → “Payment methods” → “Add credit or debit card”, and fill in the same details.

Things to know

• A small “pending” charge appears: Google uses it to verify the card; it disappears later and isn’t really taken.
• Payments profile country/region: adding your first payment method creates a payments profile whose country/region decides which Play Store region you get and which apps you can buy. It can’t simply be changed later — you’d need a new payments profile — so pick the right one the first time.
• Safety: enter card details only on Google’s own pages; never send them to anyone or screenshot them. Also secure your Google account.

Stuck?