Apple Pay Set to Launch in India in October 2026 With Axis Bank as First Card Partner

Apple is poised to launch Apple Pay in India in October 2026, ending a decade-long wait in one of the few major economies where the iPhone maker's contactless wallet has never gone live. The first partner will be Axis Bank, India's fourth-largest credit card issuer, according to three sources familiar with the plans.

The launch would give Apple a payments foothold in the world's most populous country, where digital transactions are booming but are overwhelmingly dominated by the Unified Payments Interface, the home-grown instant payments rail run by the National Payments Corporation of India. Apple Pay will not support UPI at launch, a significant limitation in a market where UPI accounts for 84 percent of digital payments volume, according to Reuters.

India has been a conspicuous gap in Apple Pay's global map. The service is available across North America, Europe, parts of Asia and the Middle East, yet regulatory and commercial obstacles kept it out of India. A change in the Reserve Bank of India's authentication rules, issued in September 2025 and in force since April 2026, allowed card issuers to offer device-native biometrics such as Face ID and Touch ID instead of an SMS one-time password for every transaction. That shift is widely seen as the regulatory unlock.

Commercial terms remain a sticking point. Apple had sought 15 to 20 basis points of the interchange on each credit card transaction, while major banks countered with around 10 basis points, according to reporting by The Economic Times. At launch the service is expected to work only with Visa and Mastercard credit cards, not debit cards, and not UPI.

Key Facts

Reuters reported on September 18, 2026 that Apple is poised to launch Apple Pay in India the following month with Axis Bank's credit cards, citing three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Mumbai-based Axis Bank is the fourth-largest credit card issuer in India, with 16.26 million active credit cards in July 2026, according to Reserve Bank of India data.

Apple Pay lets iPhone users make tap-and-pay purchases using tokenised card details stored on their devices, without opening a separate payments app. Apple plans to add lenders over time through direct, bank-by-bank deals, mirroring phased rollouts in other markets, one source told Reuters. The company has also held talks with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, both larger card issuers than Axis, but has not agreed commercial terms with either.

Apple and HDFC Bank did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters, while ICICI Bank and Axis Bank declined to comment when contacted. Apple has not publicly confirmed a launch date, and neither has Axis Bank.

The Next Web reported on September 18, 2026 that the launch will widen to other lenders through separate agreements, and that Apple declined to comment. It noted that Bloomberg first reported in February 2026 that Apple was in talks with Indian banks about a payments service, and that The Economic Times reported in August 2026 that the target was October, that the launch would cover Visa and Mastercard credit cards only, and that Apple had sought 15 to 20 basis points of each transaction while banks countered at around 10.

Moneycontrol reported on September 18, 2026 that discussions with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank over joining the service are continuing, and that Apple Pay enters a crowded digital market in which UPI makes up 84 percent of digital payments volume. Smartprix reported on September 18, 2026 that UPI will not be supported at launch, that only Visa and Mastercard credit cards will work initially, and that to add UPI Apple would need clearance from the NPCI and a sponsor bank to route transactions.

Analysis

The bigger picture here is that Apple is not trying to beat UPI in India. It is trying to capture a narrow but valuable slice of credit card spending from iPhone owners, a small but fast-growing and affluent customer base, while keeping its options open for a later UPI integration that would require regulatory clearance and a sponsor bank. Apple's share of India's smartphone market has doubled to 8 percent since 2022, according to Counterpoint Research, establishing the country as one of its largest markets. That user base is the prize: iPhone owners in India skew toward higher incomes and are more likely to hold premium credit cards.

The bank-by-bank approach is deliberate. Apple negotiated privately with each issuer in every market it entered, and India is no different. Starting with a single partner, Axis Bank, limits operational risk and gives Apple a template it can refine before bringing on HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, which are larger issuers and, by extension, tougher negotiators. The unresolved fee question, 15 to 20 basis points sought by Apple against roughly 10 basis points offered by banks, is the real gate. Scale is Apple's leverage: the more iPhone users who want Apple Pay, the more pressure banks face to sign.

What this really means is that the RBI's authentication directions did more than approve a technology. By allowing device-native biometrics for card authentication, the central bank removed the single biggest technical barrier that had kept Apple Pay out of India. The rules, issued in September 2025 and effective from April 2026, let issuers offer customers a choice of authentication factors rather than mandating an SMS one-time password for every transaction. Face ID or Touch ID can now authorise a payment on an Indian bank card.

Yet the absence of UPI at launch is a genuine constraint. UPI, run by the NPCI, handles the overwhelming majority of digital transactions and is the default for everyone from street vendors to large merchants. Apple Pay will live alongside UPI rather than replace it, at least initially. Its practical appeal will be tap-and-pay at terminals that accept contactless cards, a smaller universe than the QR codes that blanket India. That limits near-term volume but does not diminish the strategic value of being present.

Why It Matters

India is one of the last major economies where Apple Pay was unavailable, and its absence had become an anomaly given Apple's growing device sales in the country. A launch with Axis Bank signals that the company now sees enough scale in its Indian user base, and enough regulatory clarity, to justify the investment. For Apple, payments deepen ecosystem lock-in: once an iPhone owner stores a card in Apple Pay, switching costs rise.

For Indian banks, the calculus is mixed. Apple Pay can drive credit card spending and reduce friction at checkout, but it also hands Apple a cut of interchange and inserts the company between the bank and its customer at the moment of payment. The fee dispute over 15 to 20 basis points versus 10 basis points is really a fight over who captures the value of a tap. The banks that sign early may gain customer preference; those that hold out may cede affluent iPhone users to rivals.

For the broader market, the entry of Apple Pay tests whether global wallets can coexist with UPI. The NPCI's dominance is not in question, but a successful Apple Pay rollout could open the door to other international payment services and push Indian banks to modernise card authentication and tokenisation further. It also puts pressure on the RBI and NPCI to clarify how global wallets might eventually plug into UPI, a question that will only grow louder.

Next Up

The immediate test is whether Apple Pay actually goes live in October 2026 with Axis Bank, and whether HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank settle commercial terms in time to join at or shortly after launch. Watch for an official announcement from Apple or Axis Bank, neither of which has confirmed a date. Also watch the fee structure: the gap between 15 to 20 basis points and 10 basis points will shape which banks sign next.

Beyond that, the UPI question looms. Adding UPI would require clearance from the NPCI and a sponsor bank, and it would transform Apple Pay from a niche credit card wallet into a mainstream payments tool in India. For now, Apple is following its familiar playbook: one market at a time, one bank at a time, on terms negotiated privately.