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My family own a number of Android devices. We each have our own google account but ther is no credit-card linked to any of them. I'd like to keep it that way. But occasionally, I'd like to buy an app, but I can't as there is no way to pay without registering a credit card. At least with iPhones, I can use a gift card, but they don't seem to be available for android.

Is there a way that I can create a new account and link it to a credit card and whenever one of the family wants to purchase an app, sign on to the app-store with this account, buy the app, and sign out again. Will the app still work on the phone if the current user is not account that bought the app?

Edit: Here's the Play-Store "Accounts" dialog showing no "Add" option. Play Store "Accounts" Dialog

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  • You can buy Google Play gift cards at various retailers as can be seen here. They come in $10, $25 and $50 increments.
    – znewman
    Commented Apr 12, 2013 at 21:13
  • Also see: How to change the account for Android Market?, which deals with the "multiple accounts on a single device" issue.
    – Izzy
    Commented Apr 12, 2013 at 21:53

1 Answer 1

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You should be able to add another account in Google Play on the devices that can be used for purchasing and downloading apps. You can even set a pin for it. With the Google Play Store open:

  1. Tap the settings button in the upper right-hand corner

    Settings

  2. Tap Accounts

    Accounts

  3. Tap Add account and then OK

    Add Account

  4. Go through the account setup and now you should be able to select that account to purchase and download apps.
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  • This seems to require a recent Android version. Most of our phones are 2.x (with no option to upgrade)
    – Adrian Pronk
    Commented Apr 13, 2013 at 0:01
  • It may look a little different, but it should be available as long as you have a recent version of the Google play store (3.0 or newer). Most likely you have a menu button on your device. When you press the menu button when in the Google Play Store do you get an Account option?
    – znewman
    Commented Apr 13, 2013 at 13:15
  • My wife's Samsung Galaxy is running Google Play Store build 3.10.14 and Google Play services 3.0.27 on firmware version 2.3.3. Play Store -> Menu -> Accounts pops up a dialog named "Choose Google Account" with only one account and no option to add another one. Menu -> Settings doesn't have any obvious option to add a new account.
    – Adrian Pronk
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 6:55
  • If you can't add an account directly to the Play Store, you may need to add it to the system, and then it will show up in the Play Store. Try to add that account through the system settings and it will likely show up in the Play Store.
    – bassmadrigal
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 7:12
  • @ZnewMaN: I've just uploaded a screenshot of Play Store
    – Adrian Pronk
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 7:12

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