Apple Pay has officially launched in India through a partnership with Axis Bank, marking a significant expansion for Apple’s digital payment service into one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing digital payments markets. The rollout gives eligible Axis Bank customers a new way to use their credit cards through Apple devices, while also placing Apple Pay within a highly competitive payments ecosystem dominated by India’s homegrown digital infrastructure.
Axis Bank is the first Indian bank to offer Apple Pay to its customers. The service is initially available for eligible credit cards issued on the Visa and Mastercard networks. Customers holding cards connected to India’s RuPay network will not be able to use those cards with Apple Pay under the initial arrangement.
The launch represents an important step for Apple as it expands its financial services presence in India. The country has become one of the world’s most active digital payments markets, with consumers increasingly using smartphones and other connected devices for everyday transactions. However, Apple Pay has entered a market where consumers already have access to several widely used digital payment options, making the local rollout different from its expansion into many other countries.
Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said, “India is home to a dynamic and digitally savvy population that continues to embrace a cashless future while expecting the highest standards of security and privacy, and we’re so excited to bring Apple Pay to users in India today.”
For Axis Bank, the partnership adds another payment option to its growing credit card business. The bank was India’s fourth-largest credit card issuer, with 16.3 million cards outstanding as of August, according to central bank data. India had around 124 million credit cards in circulation during the same period, highlighting the scale of the potential customer base available to digital payment providers.
The service allows eligible customers to add their cards using the Axis Bank mobile application or Apple Wallet. Once a card has been added, users can make payments at participating stores, inside apps and through online services using compatible Apple devices. The initial supported devices include the iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad.
Apple Pay is designed around contactless transactions and device-based authentication. Instead of manually entering a card PIN or an online one-time password for every transaction, users can authenticate payments using Face ID, Touch ID or their device passcode. This approach is intended to make payments faster while maintaining the security protections built into Apple’s hardware and software ecosystem.
The arrival of Apple Pay also highlights the unusual position India occupies in the global payments industry. The country has rapidly moved toward digital transactions, but its payment landscape has developed around systems specifically designed for the Indian market. The Unified Payments Interface, commonly known as UPI, has become a central part of that transformation.
UPI enables instant bank-to-bank transfers and is widely used for purchases, bill payments, transfers between individuals and a range of other everyday transactions. According to a 2025 International Monetary Fund report, UPI accounted for 84% of digital payment volumes in India and had become the world’s largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume.
That environment means Apple Pay is arriving in India with a different role from the one it plays in many other markets. In countries where card payments dominate everyday transactions, mobile wallet services can become a primary digital payment method. In India, consumers already have deeply established habits around UPI and other local payment systems. Apple therefore enters a market where convenience, security and device integration may be important selling points, but where users already have multiple familiar ways to pay.
The initial availability of only Visa and Mastercard credit cards also places limits on the scope of the launch. RuPay has become an important part of India’s domestic card network, but RuPay cards are not eligible for Apple Pay under the current arrangement. This means the first phase of the service is focused on a particular segment of Indian cardholders rather than the entire card market.
The partnership could nevertheless give Apple an opportunity to build familiarity with its payment platform among Indian consumers. Apple has a large and established user base in the country, particularly in the premium smartphone segment. Integrating payment capabilities directly into devices that consumers already use could make everyday transactions more convenient for eligible cardholders.
For Axis Bank, supporting Apple Pay also provides another way to strengthen the usefulness of its credit cards. Digital wallets can make cards more convenient by allowing customers to make payments without physically carrying a card. The ability to authenticate transactions through a smartphone or smartwatch can also fit naturally into increasingly mobile lifestyles.
Apple’s entry comes after discussions with other major Indian lenders. The company has held talks with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, two of the country’s largest private-sector banks, although commercial agreements had not been reached with those institutions at the time of the launch. Any future partnerships could potentially expand the range of cards that customers can use with Apple Pay.
The timing is significant because India remains a major growth market for international technology and financial services companies. Its huge population, expanding digital infrastructure and increasing adoption of smartphone-based services have made the country an important destination for global technology firms. At the same time, India’s payment ecosystem has strong domestic characteristics, with UPI playing a much larger role than comparable systems in many other economies.
Security and privacy are likely to remain important considerations as Apple Pay develops in the Indian market. The service uses authentication technologies built into Apple devices, while tokenization helps avoid directly exposing the underlying card details during transactions. For consumers, the appeal will ultimately depend not only on security features but also on where the service can be used and how easily it fits into existing payment habits.
