Apple Pay Enters India with Axis Bank in 16.3 Million Card Rollout
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Apple Pay launched in India on Wednesday through an exclusive initial partnership with Axis Bank. The rollout enters the world’s most populous consumer market.
Axis Bank is India’s fourth-largest credit card issuer. It held 16.3 million cards outstanding out of 124 million nationwide as of August, according to central bank data.
How the Axis Bank Rollout Works
The private lender, India’s third-largest, is the first domestic institution to support the payment service. Cardholders can link eligible Visa and Mastercard credit cards through the Axis Bank mobile app or directly inside Apple Wallet.
Transactions operate across physical retail checkouts, mobile apps, and online merchant portals using iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad hardware. The service enables contactless checkout without a physical card PIN or a one-time password. Instead, it authenticates charges through Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode.
Domestic cards issued on India’s homegrown RuPay payment network remain excluded from the service at launch.
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.
“The domestic real-time bank settlement architecture processes 84 per cent of digital transaction volumes.”
The Battle Against UPI Dominance
Entering India puts Apple directly up against the Unified Payments Interface. The domestic real-time bank settlement architecture processes 84 per cent of digital transaction volumes. According to a 2025 International Monetary Fund report, the protocol ranks as the world’s largest retail fast-payment network by transaction volume.
For retailers and consumer brands across India, adding Apple Pay provides a direct checkout route for premium smartphone owners. These shoppers frequently transact on credit rather than direct bank debit. The system shifts point-of-sale interaction toward tap-and-pay hardware readers, bypassing the QR-code scanning routines that dominate local merchant counters.
Merchant Margins and Bank Negotiations
Commercial terms have slowed broader adoption among top Indian credit issuers. Apple held talks with larger domestic rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. It has not agreed commercial terms with either institution.
Interchange fee sharing and integration expenses remain the central tension in a market where UPI merchant transactions carry minimal processing costs. Axis Bank took the opening position to attract affluent device owners. In doing so, it accepted Apple’s ecosystem rules to secure an early advantage in premium card acquisition.
Next Steps for Indian Card Expansion
India was one of the last major global economies without local wallet support after earlier rollouts across East Asia and Southeast Asia. The launch coincides with Apple’s widening retail footprint in Mumbai and New Delhi, where direct store openings have accelerated hardware sales.
Attention now turns to whether HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank resolve fee discussions to link their respective card portfolios. A deal with both lenders would open Apple Pay to more than half of India’s total credit card base.