Apple Pay might finally launch in India, but without UPI support

Apple Pay could finally make its India debut as early as October, but the service may arrive without the country's most popular digital payment method, UPI. The initial rollout is expected to focus on credit card-based contactless payments.Apple Pay is reportedly all set to debut in India, but it might come without UPI support.Apple Pay could finally be making its long-awaited India debut, with the service reportedly set to arrive by September-end or October. However, there is an important catch for Indian users that UPI payments may not be part of the initial rollout. According to a Business Standard report, Apple is in discussions with major credit card issuers in India as it prepares to bring its payments service to the country. The initial version is expected to focus on credit cards running on networks such as Visa and Mastercard. Here are three key things to know.1. Apple Pay may arrive without UPIFor Indian users, this is perhaps the biggest limitation. Apple Pay is unlikely to support UPI transactions when it launches. The reason is that bringing UPI to Apple Pay would require approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), along with a banking partner that can sponsor the transactions. Apple therefore appears to be taking a card-first approach instead.That means users should not expect Apple Pay to immediately replace apps such as Google Pay or PhonePe for everyday UPI payments.2. Your credit card could become the main attractionThe initial Apple Pay experience in India is expected to revolve around credit cards. Users could add supported cards to Apple Wallet and then use their iPhone to make contactless payments at compatible point-of-sale terminals using NFC. This is similar to how Apple Pay works in other markets. Instead of pulling out a physical card, users can authenticate a payment on their iPhone and tap it at the payment terminal.Apple has reportedly been negotiating with some of India's biggest credit card issuers over the economics of these transactions. The discussions centre on the interchange fee, which is paid between banks when a card payment is processed.3. Apple and banks are still negotiating the fee The fee could prove to be one of the biggest hurdles before Apple Pay's India launch. According to the report, Apple has been seeking a share of around 15-20 basis points from each credit card transaction. Some major card issuers, however, have reportedly pushed for a lower figure of around 10 basis points.For context, one basis point is 0.01 per cent. The fee would not be directly charged to consumers. Instead, it would come from the money banks earn from card transactions.Apple has not publicly confirmed the reported launch timeline or the details of its India rollout. But if the negotiations move forward, Indian iPhone users could soon get an official way to store supported credit cards in Apple Wallet and make tap-to-pay transactions—more than a decade after Apple Pay first launched globally.- EndsPublished By: Ankita GargPublished On: Aug 10, 2026 17:15 IST