Apple Pay could launch in India by late September or October, potentially giving Apple a stronger presence in the country’s growing premium credit card and digital payments market.
Initial Focus On Credit Cards
According to reports, Apple Pay may initially support credit cards issued on international payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
The service is not expected to offer UPI payments at launch. To enable UPI transactions, Apple would need approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the UPI network, along with a partnership with a sponsor bank.
Apple In Talks With Card Issuers
Apple has reportedly been discussing transaction fees with some of India’s major credit card issuers ahead of the potential launch.
The company is said to be seeking around 15 to 20 basis points from the interchange fee earned on each credit card transaction. Some major card issuers, however, have reportedly proposed a lower rate of around 10 basis points.
Apple Pay is expected to enter the Indian market in phases, with the initial rollout likely centred on card-based contactless payments.
How Apple Pay Could Work In India
Under the expected first phase, users could add eligible debit and credit cards to Apple Wallet and make contactless payments using an iPhone or Apple Watch at NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals.
Apple Pay allows users to securely store eligible payment cards in Apple Wallet and use NFC technology to make contactless transactions. The service is currently available across more than 90 markets globally.
At present, cards issued in India cannot be added to Apple Wallet for Apple Pay transactions, meaning the initial rollout could focus on premium cards operating on networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
Apple Pay Could Boost Credit Card Usage
The arrival of Apple Pay could encourage greater use of credit cards in India by adding another contactless payment option alongside the widely used UPI ecosystem.
Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau has said he expects Apple Pay to enter the Indian market before the end of 2026. He also suggested that a wider mix of payment methods could benefit payment companies as credit card usage continues to grow alongside UPI.
Apple’s Long Wait To Enter India
Apple’s plans to launch Apple Pay in India date back nearly a decade. In 2017, Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue said the company wanted to bring Apple Pay to India, although no specific launch date was announced.
The plans later faced regulatory and technical challenges. By 2018, Apple had reportedly paused plans for a UPI-based payments service after discussions with banks and NPCI.
Concerns around the Reserve Bank of India’s data localisation requirements and the technical structure of UPI were among the challenges faced by Apple.
Apple Expands Payments Services In India
The potential Apple Pay launch comes as Apple continues to expand its services and payments operations in India.
In July, Apple reportedly resumed accepting credit and debit card payments for App Store purchases and services such as iCloud in India after a gap of nearly four years.
The move followed Apple’s compliance with the RBI’s card tokenisation framework, which requires merchants to replace stored card details with unique tokens provided by authorised card networks and store tokenised payment data locally in India.
