Apple Inc. is planning to launch Apple Pay in India around mid-2026, which will allow people to make digital payments using their iPhones and other Apple devices. Apple Inc. is in talks with some of India’s biggest banks like ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., and Axis Bank Ltd. It is also discussing plans with international card companies such as Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc.
How will Apple Pay work in India?
In India, Apple Pay is likely to be integrated with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the digital payment system operated by the National Payments Corporation of India and is the country’s most popular system for sending money and paying bills instantly. It will also support card payments like Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc.. This means users will be able to make payments easily using their iPhone or other Apple devices. They can pay securely using Face ID or Touch ID, tap their phone to pay at stores, and also make payments online or inside apps.
India’s digital payment market is already very crowded. Big companies like Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay, Walmart Inc.’s PhonePe, Amazon.com Inc., and Paytm are already offering online payment services to millions of users. This means that when Apple launches Apple Pay in India, it will face strong competition from these well-established companies.
Why is India important for Apple?
India has more than 750 million smartphone users, and the number of people using digital payments is increasing very quickly. The middle class is also growing, which means more people have the money to spend on smartphones and online services. Because of this, India has become one of the largest and most important markets in the world. Even though Apple currently has only around 10% market share in India, as most people use more affordable Android phones, the company is slowly growing and gaining more customers every year.
Apple Inc. makes money from transactions done through Apple Pay. Adding more payment features could encourage more people to buy iPhones and Apple Watches. The company is also increasing iPhone production in India instead of depending mostly on China. It recently opened another retail store in Mumbai. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has said that India is one of the fastest-growing markets for the company.
