Apple Pay Finally Launches in India After Years of Delays

Apple Pay begins its India rollout with Axis Bank cards, entering a UPI-dominated digital payments market

Apple Pay is now rolling out in India. The company says this brings its payments service to a major and fast expanding market for digital payments. The first rollout is working with Axis Bank. That makes Axis Bank the first bank partner for Apple Pay in India. This launch follows a long wait. Apple and partners spent years on talks and delays in the country. In India, many people use the Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, for most digital payments. UPI works in a direct way. It supports bank to bank transfers. Apple Pay, in contrast, is more card based. It relies on banks, card networks, and payment systems to connect and operate. At the start, Apple Pay works with eligible Axis Bank cards on Visa and Mastercard. RuPay cards are not supported at launch. Apple Pay will also depend on merchants. Each store needs to turn on support, and payment terminals must be set up for the service.

Axis Bank customers who are eligible can put supported credit cards into Apple Wallet. Then they can use Apple Pay for online buys and for tap payments at select terminals. During the early rollout, not every location may work the same way. At some sites, a payment terminal run by one provider may handle Apple Pay. Other terminals at the same time might not. The difference can depend on what the acquiring bank or the payments setup has switched on. Getting Apple Pay into India has faced at least one key issue: the business terms. Reports say Apple wants a fee near 20 basis points, about 0.2% per transaction. People close to the talks said this would take a large share of the roughly 0.4% to 0.5% margin that exists in the payments layer. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card are not listed for the first launch. Talks on the fee and other terms are said to be still underway. Apple, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card did not reply right away when asked about the update.

STORIES YOU MAY LIKE

Swiss Re Targets India Commercial Insurance Growth

Brio & Odyssey Elevators Claim TÜV Certification — But TÜV SÜD Says Brio Is “Not Certified”

Kartik Gupta, Shell Entertainment and the Business of Being Seen in a Digital-First India

Apple Pay is entering a market where UPI already changed daily money transfers for many Indians. People often scan a QR code to send funds straight from their bank accounts. Because of that, paying without cards has become normal for everyday purchases. Apple Pay may start by reaching fewer users than other payment options. Still, it could pull in iPhone owners. This is especially true for users who rely on higher end credit cards and like to pay by tapping their phones. For Apple, this launch adds one more move in its wider India plan. The company has been growing its footprint with stronger iPhone sales. It has also pushed local manufacturing. At the same time, Apple keeps expanding its stores and retail reach.

Apple had 28% of India’s phone market by value in 2025, up from 23% in 2024, says Counterpoint Research. The same report also notes that India is playing a bigger role in Apple’s supply chain. It now makes up close to one quarter of global iPhone output. Apple Pay is now live in India, which could give Apple another path to earn money from services. For now, it may work mostly with people who pay by card and with supported payment terminals. Even so, the rollout signals a new shift in how Apple is approaching India.