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Apple Pay Launches in India After Years of Global Debut
Confirmed
In Short: Apple Pay has officially launched in India, years after its global debut.
Apple Pay has officially launched in India, years after its global debut in 2014. The service is now available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, with Mac support expected to follow soon.
According to Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, the service makes everyday payments easy, secure, and private. Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhry called it a step toward progressive payment experiences.
Apple Pay in India currently supports Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued by Axis Bank. The service requires an iPhone XR or later running iOS 18 or newer, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later paired with a compatible iPhone.
Once added, in-store payments work by double-clicking the side or Home button, authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode, and holding the phone or Apple Watch near a contactless reader.
Apple says millions of merchants across India will accept Apple Pay from day one, including Apple’s own retail stores, Blinkit, Chaayos, Croma, Ixigo, Tata 1mg, Zomato, and several Reliance-owned brands.
Apple emphasizes security by stating it does not store actual card numbers on devices or servers and does not share them with merchants during transactions. Lost or stolen devices can have payments suspended through Find My.
Apple Pay’s entry into India comes at a time when the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system has already seen widespread adoption. Unlike UPI, which enables direct bank-to-bank payments, Apple Pay is card-based and requires integration with individual issuers and payment infrastructure providers.
Apple Pay’s launch adds another piece to Apple’s growing business in India, where it has been expanding iPhone sales, local manufacturing, and its retail footprint.
Apple’s commercial terms have emerged as a sticking point with some of India’s largest banks, with Apple seeking a fee of about 20 basis points (0.2%) on transactions.
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card are not supporting Apple Pay at launch as negotiations over commercial terms continue.
Apple Pay’s launch in India marks an important milestone in the evolution of the country’s digital payments journey, according to Visa’s group country manager of India and South Asia, Suresh Sethi.
Apple has partnered with major Indian payment service providers and aggregators to enable wide-scale infrastructure support, with additional merchant networks and digital platforms slated for integration over time.
What this adds
Apple Pay’s launch in India is limited to Axis Bank credit cards, and the service does not support India’s homegrown RuPay network.
Background
As of now, T-Mobile is the only U.S. carrier supporting iPhone Handoff, charging a $5 monthly fee for the service. This pricing model has been described as a 'bummer' by some, though it is not entirely unexpected.
Apple is eyeing the launch of its payments service Apple Pay in India as early as next month, with Axis Bank likely to be its first banking partner.
What's confirmed
- Apple Pay has officially launched in India, years after the contactless payment service became available in most other major markets.
- Mac support is coming later, though Apple hasn’t specified when.
- “Apple Pay makes everyday payments with a card easy, secure, and private,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
- Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhry called it a step toward “payment experiences that are progressive, trusted and deeply relevant” to customers, while Mastercard’s Gautam Aggarwal and Visa’s Suresh Sethi both framed the launch as a milestone for contactless commerce in India, pointing to their respective tokenisation systems as the security backbone behind it.
- Once added, in-store payments work the same way they do everywhere else Apple Pay is available: double-click the side or Home button, authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode, and hold the phone or Apple Watch near a contactless reader.
- Apple says millions of merchants across India will accept Apple Pay from day one, including Apple’s own retail stores, Blinkit, Chaayos, Croma, Ixigo, Tata 1mg, Zomato, and several Reliance-owned brands.
- The service requires an iPhone XR or later running iOS 18 or newer, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later paired with a compatible iPhone.
- Apple says it doesn’t store actual card numbers on the device or Apple’s servers, and it doesn’t share them with merchants during a transaction.
- Apple also says it doesn’t retain transaction details tied back to individual users, and that a lost or stolen device can have its payments suspended through Find My.
- In India, Apple Pay is currently limited to Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued by Axis Bank.
What's still developing
- If you are making a purchase offline using Apple Pay, you need to double click the side button or home button, and then authenticate via Face ID, Touch ID or your device’s passcode.
- Globally, Apple Pay has over 11,000 bank and network partners in more than 90 countries. - Ends Also Read | iPhone 18 Pro is made in India, Apple shipping globally including US on charter planes Also Read | UPI payments will be chargeable from October 15, but not for everyone: Full story in 5 points Also Read | India may ban social media for teens, other countries are trying too but it's complicated Armaan loves to keep an eye on everything happening in the world of tech and AI.
- Apple began rolling out Apple Pay in India on Tuesday, as TechCrunch was first to report.
- The fee structure is broadly consistent with Apple Pay’s commercial model in other markets, the people said.
- An Apple Pay transaction could work at a terminal operated by an independent payments provider that has enabled the service but fail at another terminal whose acquiring bank has not, one of the people said.
- India already accounts for about a quarter of global iPhone production, and that share could rise to 30% to 35% over the next five years, Indian English daily Business Standard reported last month, citing an Indian government official.
- Commenting on the launch, Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said: India is home to a dynamic and digitally savvy population that continues to embrace a cashless future while expecting the highest standards of security and privacy, and we’re so excited to bring Apple Pay to users in India today.
- Gautam Aggarwal, Mastercard’s president of India and South Asia, said: As India’s digital economy accelerates and consumers seek seamless and secure payment experiences, the introduction of Apple Pay for our Axis Bank-issued Mastercard credit card holders ushers in a new era of contactless commerce, giving Indian consumers greater confidence and peace of mind with every transaction.
- Together, we are expanding consumer choice and helping shape the next generation of commerce in India.
- Nikhil Mehta, Senior Vice President – Partnerships & Business Head – Growth Initiatives (Cross-Border Payments & Affordability), said: PayU is proud to bring Apple Pay to lakhs of Indian merchants, enabling a new era of secure and seamless authentication solutions for digital payments.
- The deployment allows Apple device owners in India to make contactless in-store payments, as well as complete transactions within mobile applications and on the web, without entering one-time passwords (OTPs) or physical payment PINs at checkout.
- These cards can be provisioned into Apple Pay for use across thousands of domestic merchants and any point-of-sale terminal globally that supports near-field communication (NFC) transactions.