NC has officially added Apple Pay and Cash App Pay as payment methods from September 23. Apple Pay is supported across 56 listed countries and territories, while Cash App Pay is currently limited to the United States. The new options arrive just seven days before AION 2 Advanced Access begins on September 30 and twelve days before the full free-to-play launch on October 5.
There is, however, one slightly frustrating omission. NC's announcement confirms the payment methods and supported countries, but does not specify exactly where those methods will appear. Steam, PURPLE and NC's own payment infrastructure are not named individually. So while Apple Pay and Cash App Pay are now officially part of AION 2's global payment setup, we still need clarification on which storefronts actually support them.
Apple Pay Is Available in 56 Countries and Territories
Apple Pay receives by far the widest support.
NC's official list includes major AION 2 markets across North America, Europe, South America and Oceania. Supported countries include the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
Denmark is also included, along with Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Faroe Islands.
According to NC, the full Apple Pay availability list contains 56 countries and territories:
- United Arab Emirates
- Greece
- South Africa
- Norway
- New Zealand
- Niger
- Denmark
- Germany
- Latvia
- Romania
- Luxembourg
- Lithuania
- Liechtenstein
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Moldova
- Malta
- United States
- Vatican City
- Bulgaria
- Brazil
- Saudi Arabia
- San Marino
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Spain
- Slovenia
- Singapore
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Azerbaijan
- Estonia
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Austria
- Ukraine
- Israel
- Italy
- Georgia
- Czech Republic
- Kazakhstan
- Qatar
- Canada
- Kuwait
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Türkiye
- Palestine
- Faroe Islands
- Portugal
- Poland
- France
- Finland
- Hungary
NC also adds an important caveat: availability depends on both the supported country and the player's usage environment. The announcement does not explain exactly what that means, but device, browser, regional account settings or payment-provider restrictions could all potentially matter.
Cash App Pay Is US-Only
Cash App Pay is considerably simpler.
NC lists the United States as the only supported country.
Cash App Pay allows users to complete purchases through their Cash App account rather than entering card details directly. For US players, it therefore adds another alternative payment route alongside more traditional cards and whatever payment options are already available through the relevant storefront.
There is currently no indication that Cash App Pay will expand to Europe, Canada or other territories before launch.
Japan Is Surprisingly Missing From Apple Pay Support
One omission stands out immediately.
Japan is one of AION 2's four confirmed global server regions, but it does not appear on NC's Apple Pay availability list.
That is particularly curious because Apple Pay itself is available in Japan. NC has not explained why some otherwise Apple Pay-supported territories are missing from the AION 2 list.
The Netherlands and Belgium are absent too, despite Apple Pay operating in both countries. In South America, Brazil is included, but countries such as Argentina are not.
Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand are supported even though AION 2 will not have a dedicated Oceania server at global launch.
There may be perfectly ordinary payment-provider reasons for that particular collection of countries, but NC has not provided them.
Can You Use Apple Pay to Buy a Founder's Pack on Steam?
This is currently the biggest unanswered question.
AION 2 is available globally through both Steam and PURPLE. But purchases on those platforms do not necessarily pass through the same payment systems.
Steam transactions are handled through Valve's checkout and Steam Wallet infrastructure. NC's announcement, meanwhile, simply says that Apple Pay and Cash App Pay are being added as payment methods. It does not say “Steam,” “PURPLE,” “web shop” or “in-game store.”
That means we should not currently tell players that Apple Pay definitely works for purchasing the Steam Founder's Pack.
The wording seems more likely to concern NC's own payment environment, but that remains interpretation rather than confirmation.
This matters because Founder's Pack access is tied to the platform where the pack is purchased. If you intend to play through Steam, buying something through PURPLE because it happens to support your preferred payment method is not necessarily interchangeable.
The Timing Is Obviously About Launch
The timing of the change is not subtle.
Apple Pay and Cash App Pay arrive on September 23.
Advanced Access begins September 30.
The full free-to-play launch follows October 5.
That gives NC exactly one week to have the new payment methods running before Founder's Pack players begin making permanent characters and the real AION 2 economy comes online.
Paid systems will matter considerably more at that point than they did during the Launch Scale Test, where the Shop, Membership, Market, Quna Exchange and payment functions were deliberately disabled.
We have already covered how AION 2 Membership and the Quna economy work, while recent changes such as the removal of direct player trading have made NC's official payment and Market systems even more central to the global economy.
What About AION 2's Payment Verification?
NC previously announced a one-time verification process for first card purchases. That process uses card-issuer verification to reduce payment fraud.
The new Apple Pay and Cash App Pay notice does not say whether those wallet-based methods are subject to the same verification process.
That makes sense because digital wallets already handle authentication differently from ordinary card entry, but until NC publishes more detail we should not assume the original verification rules either do or do not apply.
Players purchasing a Founder's Pack through a new payment method should therefore be prepared for whatever authentication their payment provider requests.
No Changes to Pricing Have Been Announced
The addition of Apple Pay and Cash App Pay does not currently change AION 2's pricing structure.
NC has announced no additional transaction fee, regional price adjustment or discount connected with the new payment methods.
The three Founder's Pack tiers remain priced at $24.99, $49.99 and $99.99 in the United States, while Special Quai Membership remains roughly $15 per month.
Similarly, NC has not announced Google Pay, PayPal or additional local payment services as part of this update.
The company simply says it intends to provide more convenient and diverse payment options.
Useful, but We Still Need One Important Answer
Adding Apple Pay one week before Advanced Access is a sensible quality-of-life improvement, particularly across Europe and North America where mobile wallet use is already widespread.
Cash App Pay gives US players another route as well.
The unanswered question is surprisingly basic:
Where exactly can we use them?
If the new methods appear across NC's web shop and PURPLE but not Steam, players need to know that before purchasing a Founder's Pack. If they are somehow integrated into both environments, that would be useful to confirm too.
With September 30 now only a week away, we probably will not have to wait very long to find out.
For now, Apple Pay and Cash App Pay are officially part of AION 2 Global's payment system from September 23.
The checkout button just needs to tell us where.
