The International Business Times reports that Apple had originally warned its Greek users that they were at risk of losing data stored in their iCloud accounts above the 5GB free limit. The financial crisis prevents Apple from accepting payment from anybody using a Greek bank account.
This meant that Greek users could have lost vast amounts of potentially valuable or sensitive data stored online. As people scrambled to download their files after Apple’s original warning, the company has now announced that it will issue a reprieve to pressured Greece.
In a move that will likely bring relief to its users, Apple has decided that, given the circumstances, it will temporarily suspend payments in Greece for the next 30 days. The company confirmed in emails to its users that it will not be making any attempt to take payment for Greek iCloud subscriptions in the next 30 days.
Customers will be able to continue to access iCloud as usual in that period “at no additional cost.” Apple will attempt to take payment 30 days after the original renewal date for the plan. If it fails, then data loss may still occur.
As an agreement over Greece’s debt has now been reached with Eurozone leaders, it is likely that Apple will be able to take payments as normal from Greek bank accounts within the next 30 days. Leaders have placed bans on overseas payments to prevent a total economic collapse in the country.
The EU will bailout Greece to a value of €86bn in exchange for strict austerity measures from Greece, removing the possibility of a “Grexit”. Negotiations took 17 hours but should result in the country’s financial situation stabilising in the near future, allowing Greeks to use their bank accounts as normal to pay companies like Apple.
