- Apple Pay is reportedly planning to launch in India by October 2026.
- The service will initially launch in India without support for UPI transactions, as Apple needs approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and a sponsoring bank.
- Visa and Mastercard credit cards will be the initial focus for Apple Pay in India.
- Apple is currently negotiating transaction fees with credit card issuers.
- The company is reportedly seeking a 15 to 20 basis points fee from banks for each credit card payment made through Apple Pay.
- Some credit card issuers are pushing for a lower fee of 10 basis points.
- The fee would be borne by the banks and not passed on to customers or merchants.
- In 2017, Apple senior VP Eddy Cue indicated that Apple Pay would come to India in the future.
- By late 2018, Apple had reportedly put its plans for UPI-based payments on hold due to RBI data localisation concerns.
- In July 2026, Apple resumed in-app purchases and subscriptions in India after complying with the RBI's card tokenisation framework.
Apple Pay is expected to launch in India by October 2026, focusing on Visa and Mastercard credit cards, while initially excluding UPI support. The company is negotiating transaction fees of 15-20 basis points with banks, although some issuers are advocating for a lower fee of 10 basis points.14
The service will allow users to add eligible debit or credit cards to Apple Wallet and make payments at NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals using an iPhone or Apple Watch. Apple needs approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and a partnership with a sponsor bank to enable UPI transactions in the future.
According to reports, the initial rollout will focus on premium credit cards issued on global networks, as cards issued in India currently cannot be added to Apple Wallet. Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau expressed confidence that Apple Pay will enter the market before the end of the year, suggesting that a diversified mix of payment methods could benefit the company as credit card usage grows alongside UPI.
Apple's anticipated launch comes nearly a decade after the company first indicated its interest in bringing Apple Pay to India, with Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP, hinting at its future in 2017 without a specific timeline.8
“Apple is negotiating a 15-20 basis points transaction fee from banks per credit card payment, while some issuers push for 10 bps. The fee would be borne by banks, not passed to customers or merchants, and the service will initially support contactless payments via Apple Wallet at NFC terminals.”
Deccan Chronicle
