Without any warning or fanfare, Apple today launched a service in Japan that enables iPhone and iPod Touch users to add funds to their Apple ID account without the need for a physical card. Reports later surfaced that the service also is available in Australia, Germany and the U.S.

Apple calls the service iTunes Pass and it sits inside the iOS Passbook app, according to a report from 9to5 Mac. Apple ID account holders visit an Apple Store to purchase credit to buy items for the iTunes Store, App Store and iBooks. An Apple Store employees scans the iTunes Pass to add the value to the account once the transaction at the point-of-sale is complete. 

It appears iTunes Pass is only available in Japan, a country where consumers depend mostly on cash to make purchases.