Apple Pay India Rollout | Apple Pay in India 2026 | Apple Pay India Launch | Apple Pay’s entry in India confirmed! It can start only in the year 2026
Apple is very close to launching its digital payment service Apple Pay in India. According to sources associated with Moneycontrol, the company is currently in talks with global card networks like Mastercard and Visa and is also in the process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals.
The iPhone maker aims to launch Apple Pay in India within this year after all approvals and commercial agreements are completed. According to industry sources, Apple is also in talks with card issuing banks regarding the fee structure so that its payment gateway can be used. Apple Pay is currently working in 89 countries of the world.
Entry of Apple Pay in different phases
According to sources, the entry of Apple Pay in India will be phase wise. In the first phase, the focus will be on card-based contactless payments. UPI integration may be added at a later stage, but this will require separate and more complex regulatory approvals. Apple Pay is unlikely to apply for a TPAP license in the initial stages, as the regulatory framework of UPI is quite different from that of card payment systems. This development was first reported by Business Standard on January 21. Questions sent to Apple India, Mastercard and Visa did not elicit any response.
There will be competition with Samsung
Samsung is already running its digital payment service Samsung Wallet in India, which was launched in 2022. Recently, UPI integration has also been added to it, which has strengthened Samsung’s hold in India’s digital payment market, where UPI dominates.
How will Apple Pay work?
Apple Pay is operated by Apple Payments Services, which is a subsidiary of Apple. After the launch, users will be able to save their credit and debit cards in Apple Wallet and make payments by tapping on the PoS machine through NFC technology. At present, cards issued by Indian banks cannot be added to Apple Wallet.
Apple’s growing presence in India
Preparations for Apple Pay are taking place at a time when Apple’s presence in India has increased rapidly. In 2025, the company recorded the highest ever iPhone shipments in India, and its market share was around 9–10%, making Apple among the top-5 smartphone brands in the country.
According to Counterpoint analyst Varun Mishra, India has now become one of the largest markets for iPhone. The growing iPhone user base is a big opportunity for Apple to launch local services, such as Apple Pay. He said that because of UPI in India, people are already accustomed to digital payments, so there will not be much problem in adopting Apple Pay. However, Apple will need to emphasize iOS integration, simple interface, and strong privacy and security to stand out from QR-based apps like Google Pay. In view of the entry of Apple Pay, many Indian fintech companies have started preparations to support Apple Pay in their systems for international transactions by 2025.
