Apple Pay India launch: After 90+ markets, is India finally next? What you can expect

Apple Pay could finally be heading to India, nearly 12 years after Apple introduced its mobile payment service in the US. The company is reportedly preparing an India launch as early as October, starting with Axis Bank credit cards, according to a Reuters report. If the rollout goes ahead, India would become one of the latest major markets to get Apple’s payment service, despite the iPhone maker having built a sizeable user base in the country.

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Apple Pay is already available in more than 90 countries and regions, but its arrival in India comes with a major difference. It will enter a market where UPI is already deeply embedded in everyday payments. So, what exactly will Apple Pay bring to Indian iPhone users?

Apple Pay has travelled a long way since 2014

Apple introduced Apple Pay in September 2014 as a way to make payments with an iPhone and Apple Watch. It has since expanded across more than 90 markets, including the UK, Canada, Australia, China, Singapore, Japan, France, Germany, the UAE and Brazil.India remained an important exception.

Why did Apple wait so long to bring Apple Pay to India?

When Apple Pay launched in 2014, India's digital payments infrastructure was still developing. The National Payments Corporation of India introduced UPI in 2016, and it has since transformed payments through direct bank-account transfers, QR codes, and apps.

That created a different environment for Apple. Instead of entering a market where card-based contactless payments were primary, Apple would be introducing a card-focused system in a country where account-to-account payments had become the norm.

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There was also a regulatory angle. Apple's model relies on tokenised cards, contactless transactions and authentication, while India's rules and payment infrastructure have evolved significantly. The timing also comes as Apple expands its India presence through retail and iPhone manufacturing. Reuters, citing Counterpoint Research, reported that Apple's smartphone market share in India had doubled to 8% since 2022.

Why is Apple starting with Axis Bank?

Axis Bank is a significant player in India's credit card market. RBI data cited by Reuters showed that the bank had 16.26 million active credit cards in July, making it the country's fourth-largest credit card issuer after HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and ICICI Bank.

Reuters reported that Apple plans to add lenders gradually through individual agreements. So, having an iPhone alone may not be enough initially. Your bank and card will also need to be supported. However, talks with other banks, including ICICI and HDFC, are reportedly underway.

Apple Pay vs UPI

Apple Pay isn’t like Google Pay, PhonePe, or other UPI apps. Instead of directly moving money from your bank account, it stores a tokenised version of an eligible payment card. At a compatible contactless terminal, you can authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID and tap your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay.

Reuters reported that UPI accounts for 84% of India's digital payments volume and supports QR-code, phone-number and tap-and-pay transactions. India has also introduced UPI Tap & Pay, allowing users to tap compatible smartphones on NFC-enabled terminals without opening their UPI app.

Apple Pay is therefore not entering a market waiting for tap-to-pay. Its immediate opportunity could be card users who prefer credit-card payments and want to pay without opening another app.

What could Apple Pay mean for Indian iPhone users?

The biggest change could be convenience. You could add a supported card to Apple Wallet and authenticate purchases through your Apple device. Apple's tokenisation system is designed to replace actual card details with a device-specific account number, so the merchant does not receive the user's real card number.

The Reserve Bank of India also allowed biometric authentication for card payments last year, helping make services such as Apple Pay more practical with Face ID and Touch ID.

However, Apple Pay is unlikely to replace UPI overnight. If the initial rollout remains card-focused, QR-code payments and direct bank-account transfers will continue to require UPI apps.

If the reported October rollout happens, Apple Pay's India journey will begin with Axis Bank. However, after nearly 12 years of waiting, the bigger question is whether Apple can expand beyond a limited card base and make its payment service relevant in a country that has already built one of the world's most widely used real-time payment ecosystems.