Apple Pay Launches in India Starting With Axis Bank

Apple has officially brought its digital payment service, Apple Pay, to India, rolling out its initial phase in partnership with Axis Bank. The rollout comes with notable limitations, supporting eligible credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks while leaving out India's dominant homegrown RuPay infrastructure entirely for now.

Regarding merchant acceptance, Apple stated that the service will be accepted by millions of merchants across the country, including major platforms like Blinkit, Croma, Ixigo, Reliance brands, Tata 1mg, and Zomato. The tech giant has collaborated with several payment service providers, such as Cashfree, JusPay, Mswipe, Paytm, PayU, Pine Labs, Razorpay, and Worldline, to enable processing capabilities.

On the commercial side, sources indicate that Apple is seeking a transaction fee of roughly 20 basis points, or 0.2%, taking a significant slice of the typical 0.4% to 0.5% payment layer margin. This fee model aligns with Apple's strategy in other global markets. Meanwhile, prominent financial institutions including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card are not supporting the launch yet as commercial negotiations remain ongoing.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Apple Pay enters an Indian payments ecosystem shaped very differently from card-dominated Western economies. The market is heavily steered by UPI, the state-backed instant payment system allowing direct bank account transfers via QR codes. Because UPI handles the vast majority of daily digital transactions, Apple Pay initially addresses a much more niche segment focused on card users.