TL;DR
- Apple Pay will launch in India by October, according to reports.
- At launch, Apple Pay will only support Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
- UPI, India’s most popular payment method, will not be supported at launch.
Apple Pay is finally launching in India after years of rumors and delays. Business Standard report claims it will go live by October. At launch, you can only use Visa and Mastercard credit cards. UPI, which handles over 15 billion transactions a month and leads digital payments in India, will not be available.
By skipping UPI, Apple Pay targets premium credit card users. It will not compete with Google Pay, PhonePe, or Paytm for daily payments. Apple Pay also needs NFC terminals in stores, which are still rare outside big cities and upscale shops.
How it will work
Add your credit card to Apple Wallet. To pay, tap your iPhone or Apple Watch on a contactless PoS terminal. Apple uses this setup in over 90 countries: NFC for communication, tokenized card details, and biometric checks with Face ID or Touch ID.
You do not need to download another app. iOS already has everything built in. Your card details stay in the Secure Element, and Apple never sees your transaction data. For users, it should just work. For Apple, this launch follows months of tough talks with India’s top credit card issuers.
The fee fight
Apple Pay is not a charity. In every country, Apple takes a small cut from each transaction. The fee comes from the interchange the merchant’s bank pays to the card-issuing bank, not from the customer or the merchant.
Business Insider reports that Apple asked for 15-20 basis points (0.15-0.20%) of the interchange on each credit card transaction. Major banks pushed back and offered 10 basis points. One basis point is 0.01%, so the difference is just a few paise per hundred rupees. It sounds small, but at scale, it adds up quickly.
In India, credit card interchange rates usually range from 0.5% to 2%, depending on the merchant and transaction size. Apple’s share is just a fraction of that and comes out of the bank’s portion, not the customer’s or merchant’s. Banks push back because their margins are already thin. UPI has zero merchant discount rate for many transactions, so banks do not get direct interchange revenue from it.
Why no UPI?
UPI is the biggest missing piece in Apple Pay’s India launch. The payment system, run by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), now handles about 80% of all digital transactions in the country. To add UPI, Apple would need clearance from the NPCI and a sponsor bank to route transactions. Google Pay and PhonePe, which together control over 80% of UPI volumes, have spent years building their UPI infrastructure and user bases.
Apple usually avoids building on third-party payment systems it cannot control. UPI charges zero fees for most person-to-merchant payments under ₹2,000 and is tightly regulated above that. This leaves little room for Apple to earn its usual cut. Apple is betting that India’s 100 million credit card users are enough, even though more than 400 million people use UPI.
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What it means for India
Apple Pay will not challenge UPI’s lead, but it could speed up a trend that is already underway: more people are using credit cards at the point of sale. Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau said on his company’s Q1 earnings call that credit card payments in India are growing 10-15% each year, thanks to more contactless terminals and better card offers. Apple Pay’s smooth NFC experience and strong brand could push this trend even further. For banks, Apple Pay helps drive more transactions through their credit card networks. Interchange revenue from cards is still much higher than what they get from UPI, even after Apple’s fee.
The big question is whether Apple’s focus on premium credit cards will keep Apple Pay limited to a small group of urban iPhone users, or if Apple will add UPI later to reach more people. Apple will likely decide based on how much money the credit card model brings in during the first year.
FAQ
When will Apple Pay launch in India?
According to Business Insider’s sources, Apple is targeting a launch by the end of September or October 2026.
Does Apple Pay support UPI?
No, the initial launch will only support Visa and Mastercard credit cards. UPI is not part of the rollout, as it would require NPCI clearance and a sponsor bank partnership.
Which cards can I use with Apple Pay in India?
Just a heads up, for now, it’s only Visa and Mastercard credit cards. No UPI or other debit networks yet.
Will I be charged extra for using Apple Pay?
No. Apple takes its fee from the interchange paid by the merchant’s bank to the card-issuing bank. There is no additional charge to the customer or the merchant.
How do I pay with Apple Pay?
Add your credit card to Apple Wallet, then tap your iPhone or Apple Watch on a contactless PoS terminal. The transaction is authenticated via Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.
Is Apple Pay safe?
Yes. It uses tokenization, so your actual card number isn’t stored on the device or shared with merchants. All transactions require biometric authentication.
Will Apple Pay work on all PoS terminals in India?
It works with any NFC-enabled terminal. Just keep in mind that coverage is still pretty spotty outside the big cities, so that you might run into issues in smaller towns or rural areas.
