ZeroLeft

Balance check

Can you transfer or cash out your Apple Account balance? What actually works

Apple Account balance cannot be cashed out, moved to Apple Cash or sent to another account. What does work: spend it, or bring it to exactly 0.

The short answer

No. Apple says you can't redeem or return unused Apple Account balance for cash, except where the law requires it. Apple's own pages describe no way to move the balance to Apple Cash, to a bank account or to another person's Apple Account. The balance stays on the Apple Account that holds it, and the only way it leaves is by being spent on Apple purchases.

That sounds like a dead end, but most people who search for this have a concrete goal: they moved, or they need a different App Store country or region, and the balance is in the way. For that goal there is a clear route. Apple asks for the balance to be spent before a country change, so what you need is a balance of exactly 0, not a transfer. The rest of this page covers both parts: what is and is not possible with the money, and how to get to 0.

Why the balance cannot be moved

Apple's billing article is explicit that funds added to an Apple Account are available only to that account. It also says that if you use Family Sharing, your family members can't spend your Apple Account balance. So even inside a family group there is no way to pass it on.

You also can't use the balance to send gifts or gift cards. That closes the indirect route of turning your balance into a present for someone else. Searches like apple id balance transfer or app store balance transfer usually end here: there is no setting, menu or form for it.

Apple Account balance vs Apple Cash

These are two different things. Apple Cash, available in the United States, lives in the Wallet app and is used with Apple Pay. Your Apple Account balance is store credit on your Apple Account, used to pay for things you buy from Apple.

Apple notes that in some countries or regions you might be able to check your Apple Account balance in the Wallet app on iPhone. Seeing it there does not turn it into Apple Cash. Apple's balance pages describe no way to move money from the Apple Account balance into Apple Cash.

What the balance can actually pay for

Apple's list of what the balance can buy is longer than many people expect:

How to remove an Apple ID balance

There is no delete or remove button for a balance. Removing it means spending it until it shows 0. Apple's own steps are short: wait for any pending refunds to process, then spend your remaining balance on items in the App Store or other Apple services.

The difficult part is the last odd amount. App Store prices come in fixed steps, so a leftover like 0.37 or 1.83 rarely matches one item. You either find a combination of prices that adds up to the exact figure, or you make one purchase slightly above the balance where the balance covers part and your payment method pays the rest. In both cases the balance ends at 0.

Getting to exactly 0 with ZeroLeft

Disclosure: ZeroLeft is made by the author of this site, an independent developer. It is not made by Apple and is not affiliated with Apple. It is an iPhone app that sells its own consumable in-app purchases, called packs, at many different prices. You enter your balance, and it finds a set of packs whose prices add up to exactly that amount. Those purchases are paid from the balance, so it reaches exactly 0.

If the balance is below the cheapest pack, the app plans one purchase of that pack: the balance covers part and the card on file pays the rest, and the balance ends at 0. If you have no card and the balance is below the cheapest pack, ZeroLeft cannot bring it to 0.

In the United States and Canada, sales tax is added on top of the price, so the amount taken from your balance is not known in advance. There the app starts with a small measuring purchase (in the US, the cheapest pack at 0.29 USD before tax), asks you for the new balance, and plans the rest from what it sees.

To be clear about what this is: the packs are purchases. Your money is spent on them, not returned to you. ZeroLeft does not cash out, refund or transfer a balance. It only spends it to exactly 0.

Zero is not the only requirement for a country change

Reaching 0 removes the balance obstacle and nothing else. Apple's country article also asks you to cancel subscriptions that block a country or region change, wait for memberships, pre-orders, movie rentals or Season Passes to complete, wait for pending refunds, check your Family Sharing status and have a valid payment method for the new country ready.

When all of that is clear, on iPhone go to Settings, tap your name, then Media & Purchases, then Country/Region, and follow the steps.

Questions

Can I transfer my Apple ID balance to another account?

No. Apple says funds you add are available only to you, and even Family Sharing members can't spend your Apple Account balance. Apple describes no way to move it to another Apple Account.

Can I move my App Store balance to Apple Cash?

Apple's balance pages describe no way to do that. Apple Account balance and Apple Cash are separate. The balance can only be spent on Apple purchases.

Can I transfer my Apple Account balance to a bank?

No. Apple says unused Apple Account balance can't be redeemed or returned for cash, except where the law requires it.

How do I remove my Apple ID balance?

By spending it to exactly 0. Wait for pending refunds, then spend the rest on App Store items or other Apple services. ZeroLeft finds pack prices that add up to your exact balance.

Is my balance lost if I change country?

You can't change country while a balance remains. Apple asks you to spend it first, so it has to be used before the change.

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