why does apple store require credit card for free apps
The reason is that credit card, apart from being a source of payment, is also a way to identify your country or region. For instance, with a U.S. credit card you can make purchases in the U.S. App Store, but with a Chinese credit card you can'tâyou need to go to the Chinese App Store.dd a credit card to your current Apple ID, buy a free app, then change the account's payment type to none (see Apple Support article HT1918).