Apple to transition Brazilian iTunes sales to local currency in early 2018

In email notifications sent out to Brazilian customers on Thursday, Apple said it plans to transition iTunes pricing from U.S. dollars to the Brazilian real in 2018, offering potential savings on music, apps and more.

Apple pushed out at least two different messages to users in Brazil, detailing how the upcoming currency change will impact its various online storefronts, according to AppleInsider reader Osmar.

A first email notes the change is applicable to the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, Apple Music and iCloud Storage, and will take effect in early 2018. Following the transition, all transactions will be denominated in reais, streamlining the process not only for customers, but Apple's own backend. The company asks customers to contact support if they have problems with future purchases.

Apple also sent emails notifying Apple Music members that their subscription pricing will change as a result of the currency switch. For example, family plan pricing will drop from $7.99 to 24.90 Brazilian reais ($7.57). Single user subscriptions will likely see a similar cut.

Currently, customers in Brazil must use an international credit card to purchase items on iTunes. Further, because online transactions are processed in U.S. dollars, users are subject to a financial transactions tax (IOF) of 6 percent.

Over the past few years Apple has made efforts to convert digital product pricing on country-specific storefronts. Most recently, the company changed App Store pricing from the U.S. dollar and euro to the local currencies of nine countries in May. Prior to that, Apple transitioned Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Tanzania and Vietnam to local currency pricing in 2016.