Apple Pay launches in India on Axis Bank credit cards
Apple Pay opened in India on September 30, 2026, for Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards only. Finextra says RuPay and UPI were not part of the launch.
The reading I take from the pages, rather than from the headline, is narrower than a national launch. Apple Pay is available in India, and the only issuer Apple named is Axis Bank. On a newsroom page updated September 30, 2026, Apple said the service was on that day for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, with Mac support coming soon, and only for customers with Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards. This is a tokenised credit card from one bank, not a new rail.
Finextra's October 1, 2026 report adds limits Apple's statement does not name. RuPay cards are not eligible, and the product has to compete with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) rather than ride on it. Finextra's March 2, 2026 note, citing Bloomberg, had said talks with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank pointed to a mid-2026 launch supporting UPI as well as cards. By September 30, Apple named one issuer and did not mention UPI.
What Apple and Axis Bank switched on
Apple's India newsroom says customers add an eligible card in the latest Axis Bank app, or in Wallet via the plus sign. In a store they authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode and tap a contactless reader. Apple says they do not type a personal identification number or a one-time password, and card rewards still apply.
The statement gives two acceptance figures. Cards work at thousands of in-store and online merchants, and anywhere that accepts near-field communication (NFC). Later, Apple says millions of merchants will take it, including Apple Store locations, Blinkit, Croma, Ixigo, Reliance brands, Tata 1mg, and Zomato. It names payment service providers (PSPs) such as BillDesk, Cashfree, Juspay, Paytm, Pine Labs, and Razorpay. TechCrunch reported that a payment can clear where an independent provider has enabled it and fail where the acquirer has not, the split merchants already see when a decisioning layer sits above the orchestrator.
The footnote requires an iPhone XR or later on iOS 18 or later, and an Apple Watch Series 6 or later on watchOS 11 or later, paired with a qualifying iPhone. Mac is "coming soon," with no date. Apple says the card number is not stored on the device or on Apple's servers and is not shared with the merchant. A Device Account Number sits in the Secure Element, and Find My can suspend payments on a lost phone.
Who stayed off the launch
TechCrunch, timestamped 9:08 p.m. PDT on September 29, 2026, called Axis Bank India's third-largest private-sector lender and the first banking partner. It reported that HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card are not on Apple Pay at launch while commercial terms are still being negotiated, citing a person familiar with the matter, and that Apple and those banks had not answered its questions. Neither Apple's newsroom nor Finextra states a fee.
Finextra's March 2 report said Google Pay and Walmart-backed PhonePe together covered more than 85% of UPI transactions, and that the National Payments Corporation of India was still preparing a delayed 30% market-share cap. That is why this wallet is not a UPI app. Account-to-account products, including Brite's UK pay-by-bank service, move money from the account. Paytm is on Apple's PSP list and, with Google, PhonePe, and Amazon, on Finextra's rival list: a gateway can enable acceptance while a consumer app still competes for the payer.
What they said, and what has to change
Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said India has "a dynamic and digitally savvy population that continues to embrace a cashless future while expecting the highest standards of security and privacy." Amitabh Chaudhry, MD and CEO of Axis Bank, said Apple Pay brought "greater choice and flexibility to our Credit Card customers, with support across the Mastercard and Visa networks." Gautam Aggarwal, Mastercard's president of India and South Asia, said each transaction uses "a unique, cryptographically secured token." None of them names a second issuer, RuPay, or UPI. Apple said the service is live in more than 90 countries and regions and works with more than 11,000 bank and network partners. India joins that list with one bank and two card networks.
What changes the book is another issuer, RuPay, or UPI. Until a lender besides Axis Bank is on an Apple or bank page, eligibility is the Visa and Mastercard credit cards Apple described. Until UPI is in the product, the March expectation is unmet, and Mac support still has no date. Owning the bank, as in Chime's deal to buy its partner bank, is a different bet from a Wallet slot, just as Klarna's device-lease programme puts Apple's brand on another firm's product. Acquirers still have to switch the wallet on, or "millions of merchants" will not match the reader.
Reporting by Rick Steves. Filed 4 October 2026, 18:18 GMT.
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011.
