Apple Pay is coming to India by October, but without UPI support; What it means for Indian users

Apple Pay may finally launch in India later this year. Initially, the service is expected to support credit cards issued on networks including Visa and Mastercard. This means the platform may not support India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at launch. 

The Cupertino-based giant is reportedly in talks with major Indian banks to make Apple Pay work with their credit cards. This way, iPhone users would be able to use credit cards directly through Apple Pay, but it may come with eligibility criteria. 

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Apple Pay launch in India

Apple may introduce its payment service platform, Apple Pay, in India around late September or early October 2026. In India, Apple Pay could initially support Visa and Mastercard credit cards, allowing users to add eligible Visa or Mastercard credit cards to the Apple Wallet app. This would allow contactless payments directly via iPhone, similar to how Apple Pay works in other markets.

Apple Pay is expected to turn the iPhone into a digital wallet for credit-card payments. Additionally, it will give Indian users another way to make credit card payments, without the need for a physical card.

The big question is if Apple Pay would support UPI or not. As of now, the platform may skip UPI-based payment support. Apple would require approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and work with a sponsor bank.

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In terms of payments, Apple is reportedly asking banks for 15–20 basis points (bps) per transaction. However, Indian banks reportedly want Apple’s fee to be lower, at around 10 bps. The fee would not be charged directly to customers or merchants, but it would be paid out of the interchange revenue banks earn from card transactions.

How will Apple Pay benefit Indian users?

Apple Pay is said to benefit users who own Apple products like iPhones, Apple Watches, or iPads. It will also boost payments for merchants that accept contactless cards and cross‑border transactions.

The entry is said to increase credit card usage, with faster and one‑tap checkout at stores, apps, and websites without typing card numbers, CVV, and OTP every time. This will potentially increase spend frequency and stickiness among high‑value customers

It will also come with greater security with tokenisation, Face ID, and Touch ID, reducing the risk of card skimming and phishing compared with manual card entry.

Since Apple Pay may not support UPI and QR-based payments, India’s UPI system may not be impacted. Its footprint will be limited to NFC PoS terminals and card‑based online flows.