Apple has held discussions with several Indian lenders and global card networks as it works towards launching its payment service in the country, with a target date around mid-2026, according to a Bloomberg report.
The talks involve ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, alongside Mastercard and Visa, according to people familiar with the matter. The timeline remains subject to change.
UPI integration and biometric authentication
Apple Pay in India is expected to support the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) alongside card-based payments. UPI is a real-time interbank transfer system operated by the National Payments Corporation of India, and has become the dominant rail for digital payments in the country, handling billions of transactions monthly across consumer and merchant use cases.
Digital payments in India have historically relied on one-time passwords delivered by text message or PIN-based authentication. However, India's central bank introduced rules late in 2025 permitting biometric authentication for digital payments, including fingerprint and facial recognition. Apple Pay, which uses Face ID and Touch ID to authorise tap-to-pay transactions at physical terminals as well as purchases within apps and on websites, is well positioned to operate within this updated regulatory framework.
A competitive and fast-growing market
India's digital payments market is among the most active globally, underpinned by a large smartphone user base, low-cost mobile data access, and public digital infrastructure such as UPI. The market is currently dominated by Alphabet's Google Pay, Walmart-controlled PhonePe, and Amazon Pay, alongside domestic providers including Paytm.
Apple's entry, if confirmed, would mark a significant expansion of its payments footprint into a high-growth emerging market. The company has steadily extended Apple Pay's reach across regions in recent years. Separately, Visa recently enabled support allowing eligible Chinese cardholders to add Visa cards from participating banks and use Apple Pay for purchases at overseas merchants that accept Visa.
The reported discussions suggest Apple is in the preparatory stages of a market entry that would require integration with local payment infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and agreements with domestic banking institutions. Whether the mid-2026 target holds will depend on the progress of those negotiations.
