Apple Pay India Launch ‘Finally’ Set for October, Says Mark Gurman

Apple Pay could finally make its India debut next month. First introduced in the US in 2014, the payment service has been absent from one of the world's largest digital payments markets despite Apple's growing presence in the country. According to a seasoned journalist, Apple Pay is expected to support card-based payments, while its potential integration with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) could make the service more relevant to local users. The development comes after months of discussions between Apple and Indian banks and payment networks.

Apple Pay India Launch

In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is gearing up to launch Apple Pay in India by October. As per the journalist, the service could arrive in the country "finally" by next month.

Gurman said Apple Pay is expected to support India's UPI alongside card-based payments. UPI is the country's dominant digital payments system and allows users to make instant payments and transfers through participating banks and payment apps.

For card payments, Apple Pay allows users to store tokenised card details on their Apple devices and make contactless payments at compatible payment terminals. Payments can be authenticated using Face ID or Touch ID, without requiring users to open a separate payments app.

However, there is some conflicting reporting around UPI support at launch. Reuters reported last week that Apple is preparing to initially launch Apple Pay with Axis Bank credit cards, while discussions with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are still ongoing. The report did not mention UPI support as part of the initial rollout.

On the other hand, Bloomberg in February reported that Apple was in discussions with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, as well as Visa and Mastercard, with a potential India launch around the middle of 2026. That timeline did not materialise. Earlier reports in August had also suggested that Apple Pay could initially launch without UPI, with UPI integration potentially coming at a later stage.

Reuters reported that Apple plans to expand support to more lenders over time through individual agreements with banks. The report said Axis Bank would be the first major banking partner, while talks with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank had not yet resulted in commercial agreements.