Apple Pay Eyes India Debut Next Month With Axis Bank Credit Cards

Apple is preparing to bring Apple Pay to India as early as next month, with Axis Bank credit cards expected to be the starting point for its long-awaited entry into the country’s payments market. 

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Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Apple is working towards the rollout while it looks to bring more Indian lenders onto the service. The initial launch is expected to begin with Axis Bank, currently India’s fourth-largest credit card issuer. 

Talks have also taken place with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, although commercial terms with the two lenders have yet to be agreed. 

The discussions remain private and the companies have not formally confirmed the launch. Apple and HDFC Bank did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, while Axis Bank and ICICI Bank declined to comment. 

Apple Pay would give iPhone users another way to make contactless payments in India. Instead of opening a separate payments app, users can tap their phones at compatible payment terminals, with tokenised card information stored on the device. 

Apple is expected to bring more banks onto the platform gradually through individual agreements with lenders, rather than opening the service to several banks at once. 

India presents a very different payments landscape from many of the markets where Apple Pay already operates. 

UPI accounts for 84% of the country’s digital payment volume and supports payments through QR codes, phone numbers and tap-and-pay transactions. Apple Pay would enter that market as a card-based payment option for iPhone users. 

A regulatory change last year also cleared an important hurdle. The Reserve Bank of India allowed biometric authentication for card payments, enabling Indian bank cards to work with services such as Apple Pay through Face ID and Touch ID. 

Apple’s potential entry comes as its position in India’s smartphone market has grown. Its market share has doubled since 2022 to 8%, according to Counterpoint Research. 

Axis Bank would give Apple a sizeable card base for the first phase. The lender had 16.26 million active credit cards in July, according to RBI data, placing it behind HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and ICICI Bank in terms of cards issued. 

If the rollout proceeds as planned, India would become the latest market for Apple Pay and one of the few major economies where the service has so far remained unavailable.