It’s common to encounter certain payment-related issues when purchasing paid apps or making in-app purchases on the Google Play Store. In this guide, we’ve outlined some fixes for the ‘Operation could not be completed’ error that many Android users encounter when trying to make a payment on the Play Store.
This error indicates that a user’s payment details are not authorized. Thus, the intended purchase does not happen or is not completed. If you encounter this error, refer to the solution listed below to resolve it.
1. Confirm Availability of Funds
It is inevitable that you will encounter this error message during checkout if you do not have enough funds to cover the cost of the app/service you are trying to purchase. You should make sure that the card (or any payment method linked to your Google Play) has enough funds to cover the cost of the app.
You should also check that the bank linked to your payment card does not have a specific minimum balance that must be kept before transacting. You should contact your bank or credit/debit card issuer to confirm that your payment method can be used for online transactions.
2. Check Payment Type
Payment methods accepted on Google Play are country specific. Therefore, you should check that Google supports the payment method linked to your Google Play account. Follow the steps below to check the payment types accepted by Google in your location.
You can use any web browser on mobile or PC.
Step 2: In the ‘Find available payment methods’ section, tap the drop-down button to see the list of countries.
Stage 3: Scroll through the list and select your country.
This will reload the page and display a list of supported payment methods for your country.
Step 4: Tap ‘Unsupported payment types’ to see a list of payment methods not accepted for your region.
Google Play supports Virtual Credit Cards, Public Transport cards etc. does not support. If these (and other unsupported payment types in Step 4 above) are linked to your Google Play account, you must exchange them for any of the accepted payment types for your country. See the next solution below.
3. Re-Add Payment Method
If your payment type is not supported, remove it and add an accepted payment type. And if you’re sure the payment type is accepted, removing it and adding it again may clear the error.
To do this, follow the steps below.
Stage 1: Launch the Play Store app on your phone and tap the hamburger menu icon.
Step 2: Select Payment methods.
You should see the payment methods linked to your Google Play.
Stage 3: Tap “More payment settings” to remove a payment method or add a new one.
You will be prompted to visit the Google payments page in an external browser. If you are not signed in to your Google account in the browser, you will be prompted to sign in.
Step 4: You should see your payment methods. Tap Remove to unlink a payment method from your account. Again, tap Uninstall at the confirmation prompt.
Step 5: Tap the ‘Add payment method’ button to (re)add a supported payment method.
Step 6: Enter the details of the payment method and press Save when done.
4. Close and Force Stop Google Play Store
Sometimes, only the Play Store app is faulty. Closing and reopening the app may help. Or better yet, force close the app, restart and try to make the purchase again. Follow the steps below to force close the Play Store app.
Stage 1: Tap and hold the Play Store icon on your device’s home page or app tray.
Step 2: Tap the information (i) icon in the application menu that opens.
Alternatively, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > All Apps > Google Play Store.
Stage 3: Tap the Force Stop icon and select OK at the prompt.
Step 4: Now tap Open to restart the app.
Check if you can pay now for the app you want to buy. If the ‘The operation could not be completed’ error persists, move down to the next troubleshooting method below.
5. Clear Play Store Cache
Clearing the Google Play Store app cache can also help resolve this error. To do this, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > All Apps > Google Play Store. On the app info page, select “Storage & cache” and tap the Clear Cache icon.
Launch Google Play Store and check if you can now buy apps.
6. Edit Payment Address
If the address in Google Play payment settings is different from the default billing address on your card, this may result in your payment being declined, resulting in a ‘Transaction could not be completed’ error.
To fix this, you can:
- Contact your payment company or card issuer to change your card billing address to match the one on Google Play, or
- Edit the address in your Google Play payment settings to match the billing address your card is registered to.
The latter seems like the easier option and we’ll show you how to do it below.
Stage 1: Launch the Google Play Store app and tap the hamburger menu icon.
Step 2: Select Payment methods.
Stage 3: Tap “Other payment settings”.
Visit the Google Payments settings page, visit your preferred browser.
Step 4: Tap Edit on the payment card.
Step 5: Tap on existing address to edit/update.
Step 6: Enter the new address information that matches your debit card’s billing address. Also, enter the card verification value (CVV) – you can find this number on the back of your credit/debit card. Tap Update to save the new address.
Pay for Your Apps
At least one of the fixes mentioned above should remove the error message and make you pay for apps. Speaking of paid apps, we have a detailed guide on how to legally get paid apps for free from the Google Play Store. You may want to check it out. Let us know if you have any questions.
Next: Can’t install apps from Play Store? The post linked below contains a comprehensive compilation of fixes that you can use to eliminate the waiting for download error on the Google Play Store. Take a look at this.
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