Payment difficulties in Nigeria – Spotify, please Clarify

[Pneumatikos731]

Plan: Premium

Country: Nigeria

Device: iPhone 14, PC

Operating System: iOS 16, Windows 11

My Question or Issue

I’ve received a couple of emails from Spotify in recent days, indicating that they can’t collect my subscription from my card. Browsing through the Help Board, I see there are lots of similar complaints, one of which was responded to with the advice: “...contact your bank and make sure that your card is enabled for foreign transactions and payments in foreign currencies”.

Spotify need to come clean on this. Subscription prices are explicitly quoted in Naira. But are the actual charges put through in Naira, or in some foreign currency?

This is now critical because Nigerian banks no longer accept foreign currency charges on Naira-denominated cards and vice-versa. The correct type of card has to be used, matching the currency of the transaction.

So, could Spotify please clarify? Are your charges in Naira or in foreign currency? Does a premium subscription cost N900 (charged in Naira), or does it cost $2 or 2 Euros or some other sum, estimated to be equivalent to N900? This needs to be explicit and clear to all, so that the correct type of card can be used to fund the payment.

Please quote your subscription prices IN THE ACTUAL CURRENCY IN WHICH YOU CHARGE THE CARDS.

Thanks.

[Lyubka]

Hey @Pneumatikos731,

Thank you for reaching out here in the Community.

We're sorry to hear that you've been having trouble paying for your Premium plan.

Spotify is an international company and payments can be processed outside of your country of residence.

It's important to note that the payment method you're using needs to be authorized for foreign transactions as mentioned here. This will ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible and payments will be processed in time and with no additional hustle.

As a company we have no manual control over bank's decisions about debit/credit card purchases in foreign countries. Additionally, we are not responsible if there are any taxes banks charge for foreign transactions as this depends on the bank you use and other international agreements.

Alternatively, we'd suggest that you try using another payment method (if possible).  Here you can find more on different types of payment methods. 

Lastly, we believe that it'd be best to contact your bank to get more input on why the transactions may be failing and how this can be avoided.

Hope this clear things up. If you have any questions or need anything else, the Community is here for you.

[Pneumatikos731]

Thanks, Lyubka.

But your reply didn’t address the question.

You say in your reply that “Spotify is an international company and payments can be processed outside of your country of residence”. That’s perfectly fine. But could you please state the country and currency in which the payments are processed? And also state the precise amount in the actual currency it is processed in?

That’s all I’m asking. Three pieces of information (items 2 and 3 being the most important):

  1.   Country in which the payment is processed
  2.   Currency in which it is charged
  3.   Actual amount charged in the stated currency

Thanks for your help.