Apple Pay Launches in India with Axis Bank Partnership
Apple Pay has officially rolled out in India, partnering with Axis Bank for its initial launch. The service is currently limited, supporting specific card types and merchants.
Apple Pay has begun its rollout in India as of September 29, in partnership with private sector lender Axis Bank.
Eligible Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard cardholders can now add their cards to the Apple Wallet app for online purchases and contactless payments. However, the service's availability is restricted at launch.
Apple Pay does not support India's RuPay payment network and functions only with merchants and payment terminals that have enabled the service. Major card issuers like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card are not participating in the initial phase as commercial terms are still under discussion.
Apple reportedly sought a transaction fee of approximately 0.2%. While India has established mobile payment systems like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and contactless payments are growing, Apple Pay operates as a card-based system.