Is Apple Pay’s India Entry Too Late?

The past fortnight has brought several developments around Apple in India. The iPhone 18 Pro and Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo began shipping, putting the company’s latest hardware in focus. But another development has drawn attention: Apple Pay, a service the company has been talking about bringing to India for more than a decade, is finally here.

Apple launched the service in India on September 30, 2026, allowing users to pay at physical stores, within apps and on websites using an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

In 2016, then CEO Tim Cook during his visit to India said that Apple was looking at bringing Apple Pay to India, and had even met the then ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar to understand the bank’s views on mobile payments. Ten years later, Apple Pay is finally here, but the payments landscape has changed considerably.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed 24.51 Bn transactions worth ₹29.82 Lakh Cr in August 2026, as per the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The question is whether Apple can find room in a market where consumers already have several ways to pay.

Narrower Than The US Version

Apple Pay allows users to add eligible cards to Apple Wallet and authenticate payments through Face ID, Touch ID or their device passcode. At physical stores, they can tap their devices against compatible contactless terminals. Online, they can pay without repeatedly entering card details.

The India offering is narrower than the service available in the US, where customers can use cards from a wider range of participating banks and issuers. US users can also access Apple Cash for person-to-person money transfers, subject to eligibility. Apple has not announced a comparable service for India.

At launch, Apple Pay supports eligible Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards. RuPay cards and cards from other banks are not supported under the initial rollout. This limits the number of consumers who can use the service, even among iPhone owners.

Tarun Pathak of Counterpoint Research said Apple’s entry is late from both a global launch and competition standpoint, but pointed to regulatory requirements and the relatively small size of India’s installed iPhone base as possible reasons for the delay.

“Clearance of regulatory and technical roadblocks allowed Apple to hold its standard global architecture when it comes to Apple Pay experience built around NFC card tokenisation, plus the native Apple ecosystem leveraging the security of Face ID, Touch ID, and Apple Watch integration for fast NFC tap-to-pay at POS terminals,” Pathak said.

Apple’s approach keeps the payment experience tied to its own devices and security architecture. However, the restricted bank rollout means the company will need to expand its partnerships before the service can reach a wider customer base.

UPI Poses A Challenge For Apple Pay

UPI’s dominance presents a different challenge for Apple Pay. Unlike markets where card-based payment plays a larger role, India has built a digital payment ecosystem around direct bank-to-bank transfers, with consumers using apps such as PhonePe and Google Pay for everyday transactions.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s Payment System Report, December 2025, UPI accounted for 85.5% of digital transaction volume. This figure underlines how firmly UPI is embedded in India’s payment ecosystem, leaving Apple Pay to build adoption in a market where consumers already have an established way to pay.

Apple Pay’s launch in India does not support UPI integration. Its initial use case is therefore centred on consumers who own compatible Apple devices and hold eligible credit cards. With Apple Pay, the company is offering contactless payments, but Apple will need to give users a reason to choose card-based payment through its devices when UPI is already widely available.

The availability of tap-to-pay alone may not be enough to change consumer habits. Samsung Wallet already offers NFC-based payments on compatible Galaxy devices, alongside other wallet features. Despite Samsung supporting UPI payments, it has hardly made a dent.

An industry insider who has worked in fintech told Inc42 that the service is unlikely to make a major difference to the sector in its current form.

“Apple Pay launch is only restricted to Axis Bank, with no UPI integration. Even today Android users are around 90% of the mobile phone users. Apple Pay is just allowing you to save the card and pay via NFC,” the insider said.

The insider also pointed to existing options for Android users, saying popular apps such as Phonepe have integrated card-based payment features for Visa and Mastercard users. The source expects some Apple users to adopt the service for high ticket purchases but does not see it as a threat to the fintech industry.

The insider also questioned whether Apple would enter UPI, citing NPCI’s transaction data storage requirements and Apple’s policies of not storing transaction details.

Can Apple Pay Drive Card Payments?

Apple Pay’s entry could give a push to credit card transactions, particularly among iPhone users who prefer using cards for higher value purchases. Amrish Rau, MD and CEO of Pine Labs, had anticipated the service’s India entry before its launch, arguing that it could shift some transactions towards cards as credit card payments and UPI continue to grow.

“We do believe Apple Pay will enter the market before the end of this year. What that is going to do is flip and create a spread in terms of how payment transactions will happen. More and more payment transactions will go back to credit cards, as credit cards plus UPI continue to grow in the market,” Rau said during the company’s Q1FY27 earnings discussion. 

Data from the Reserve Bank of India’s Payment System Report, December 2025 points to the growth in credit card spending. Credit card spending rose to ₹23.2 Lakh Cr in calendar year 2025, up from ₹8.9 Lakh Cr in 2021. Private banks also strengthened their position in the segment, accounting for 71.1% of outstanding credit cards.

Debit card usage, meanwhile, has moved in the opposite direction. Transaction volumes fell 67% between CY2021 and CY2025, as consumers increasingly shifted to UPI for everyday payments.

The divergence matters for Apple Pay. While UPI has become a common choice for routine transfers and purchases, credit cards continue to serve consumers looking for credit, rewards and payment flexibility. Apple pay could make card payments more convenient by allowing users to tap their devices at compatible terminals instead of carrying a physical card.

However, growth in credit card spending does not automatically translate into demand for Apple Pay. Besides, its reach will also depend on how many consumers are willing to change their existing payment habits.

For Apple, the immediate opportunity may be to increase the frequency with which existing users pay by card through its devices. Whether that translates into a meaningful shift in India’s payment mix will depend on wider bank support, merchant acceptance and consumer adoption.

Edited By Nikhil Subramaniam
Creatives: Abhyam Gusai

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