[Pakistan] Cannot pay via debit card

[Mazdora]

Plan

Premium

Country

Pakistan

Device

Galaxy s10+

Operating System

Win 10

My Question or Issue

I am trying to get premium in Pakistan via debit card. Both my cards (different banks) are online banking activated but the payment keeps getting declined. Since Pakistan just got added to spotify today, is there a chance that online banking is not active from Spotify's end? Kindly advise what I should do. 

[Mazdora]

Thanks for all the replies. 

I tried with Standard Chartered and MCB debit cards. Both had failed. I got exactly the same error as the screenshots posted above. Different internet, incognito browser, trying after 24 hours, nothing worked! I called both banks to verify online payment activation and they had no issues from their end. To be sure I bought and refunded a game on Steam to check if its working and the cards were working fine. Also FYI I was trying for Spotify premium family, but as an experiment I also tried with solo premium which failed too.

At the end I got it working with MCB CREDIT card. Apparently Pakistani debit are not working with Spotify. 

[Ayushk222]

I saw what @Mazdora did and tried doing that too. I purchased and refunded a game from Steam and everything was working fine with the same MeezanBank Visa debit card. Please look further into this issue.

[harry505]

been facing the same issue, my friend. i tried again with another card but now it says payment declined while all the requirements needed for the card to work was on point. this is annoying man. 

[Cinedu2]

El día domingo, quise adquirir el plan duo

y al momento de pagar me decía que mi pago había un error 

Pero en mis estado de cuenta, si aparece un pago realizado 

Y no tengo servicio de Duo

¿Que puedo hacer?

[Ver]

Hey folks,

Thanks for posting here 🙂

@may96 Could you share with us which troubleshooting steps you've tried so far? We'll pass the information on to the right team.

@Cinedu2 It sounds like you might be experiencing a different issue. In this case, we'd suggest you start a new thread in the Community. We'd recommend that you also include the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. We'll look into this further.

@harry505 Just to double-check- does the issue occur when using a debit card issued in Pakistan or with another payment method?

Keep us in the loop! We'll be right here if you have any questions.

[harry505]

im from india and the cards are issued from the same country. i tried everything, i tried in an incognito tab, different device everything still no luck. i have contacted my bank regarding this and the issue wasn't on their side. seriously this issue at your end and it is annoying. wow. why have a debit card option when you don't accept them.

[Ayushk222]

Hey there everyone wanted to update you all. Today I saw this link in the header of the website. I clicked and as suspected the issue was from Spotify's side and that they've fixed it. So, I tried again today with my MeezanBank Visa debit card and IT WORKED! So, I urge everyone else to give it another go to see if it works. Thanks for fixing the problem!

[anasalialamgir]

Hi @Ver 

I'm trying to pay with my UnionPay debit card, but the payments are unsuccessful and I have checked with the bank and according to them I should be able to pay without an issue. I have tried making the payment through incognito mode, a different device and a different internet connection but nothing seems to work.

I'm attaching the below image for reference. 

Can we please fix this issue soon?

[Ayushk222]

@anasalialamgir AFAIK UnionPay cards are not that secure and banks in Pakistan do not allow for foreign/international purchases through it. Read this article it will give you better info and the best thing to do would be ask your bank directly if they allow international recurring purchases through UnionPay.

[anasalialamgir]

@Ayushk222 I have checked with Askari bank and they have told me that they have recently enabled international online payments on all their debit cards, the only thing is that before making the payment you have to let the bank know so that they can confirm the transaction in advance and according to them I should be able to make the transaction but they are still investigating the issue at their end.

[Ayushk222]

@anasalialamgir That is also a problem as with a recurring payment you MAY have to call your bank every time and that seems like a hassle. Imagine your subscription getting cancelled because you forgot to contact the bank. I would suggest you to apply for a Visa or MasterCard for hassle-free purchases if AskariBank can provide you with it, if not then open an Asaan Savings Account in MeezanBank and you will get a Visa debit card by default other banks will give a UnionPay or Paypak card with an Asaan account. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but AskariBank charges Rs. 900/yr for UnionPay right? If so, then I would say the Rs. 1200/yr hassle-free experience of the Visa card by MeezanBank would be better. That's just my opinion the end decision is up to you.

[may96]

Hello,

@Ver So I just tried it using my Meezan Bank Debit card and It worked without any issue. I think the Spotify developer team has fixed this issue. 

Thanks

[anasalialamgir]

@Ayushk222 So apparently the issue is only with UnionPay debit card and some visa cards. Although I have checked with the bank and was told that once the payment is confirmed and the payment partner verified, they automatically allow recurring payments to that partner.

I'm thinking about opening another bank account, but it seems like a lot of hassle and I really can't justify opening an account just because I'm unable to subscribe to Spotify when its probably just a system glitch at their part.

Um... I'll probably wait another week before I decide to do anything, but I just pray that the accounts team at Spotify figures out something soon because that ads between the songs are **bleep** annoying. 

@Ver Please fix this soon.

[Ayushk222]

@anasalialamgir All it takes to open an Asaan Account is CNIC and Rs. 100 initial deposit. Choose MeezanBank as they by default provide a Visa card so that's a big plus.

I also had a UnionPay card and it never worked for any kind of online payments right let alone international payments. 

And the part about the problem being on Spotify's part I highly doubt that as most of family and friends that were having an issue had it resolved after Spotify fixed the issue on March 1st they all had either Visa or MasterCard debit cards but maybe the problem exists solely with UnionPay. Well, let's hope for the best. For now though you can try purchasing the prepaid plans until the issue gets resolved if you find the ads that *bleep* annoying. 

[anasalialamgir]

@Ayushk222 Let me try and find the nearest Meezan Bank branch in my area on Monday, and hopefully, they don't take long to open an account like other banks.

Yeah, they just allowed international payments after my complaint to the SBP.

Oh, actually the glitch is in their system I believe because it shows the UnionPay logo when you select the package, but once you proceed to the payment forum it disappears. 😕 I have shared a video with them and they asked me to keep an eye on this thread. 

And I'm a Ufone user and they don't allow prepaid payments either 😞 I feel like I'm living in the stone age. 😞 

[Ayushk222]

@anasalialamgir Seriously, you seem to be suffering a lot. Let's hope it ends quickly.

[khawarnadeem]

I am having the same issue and a call with my bank told me that Spotify isn't allowing 3D secure payments in Pakistan. Many of our new chip+PIN cards are 3D secure (that one time PIN feature for online transactions).

Until they add this feature we can't pay through many banks credit or debit cards. Very annoying issue.

[Ayushk222]

@khawarnadeem It is working just fine for me and my friends. We have MeezanBank and HBL debit cards both Visa and MasterCard are working fine. Some of them also got it working with UBL and BankAlfalah. But maybe it's a Spotify problem. 

[khawarnadeem]

@Ayushk222  I have an account with Askari bank and a MasterCard credit card, which isn't working.

I'm inclined to believe it isn't an issue with the bank since I am able to subscribe to Netflix just fine.

But my friend's Bank Alfalah card is working for him. So far I am only seeing this issue with Askari Bank.  

[anasalialamgir]

@khawarnadeem Have you talked to the bank about this? Maybe there is a safety feature that is preventing you from making the payment to spotify specifically?

But to be honest, since we haven't heard from the Spotify, it very likely that the issue is at their end.

Because in my case the UnionPay logo just disappears as soon as I proceed to the payment form. You may have noticed it too.

@Ayushk222 I'm thinking about moving to Alfalfa or Standard Chartered.