Apple Pay has officially launched in India, entering one of the world's most competitive digital payments markets where the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) accounts for over 80 per cent of total digital payments volume, according to industry experts. The service debuted on 30 September, initially supporting Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, with Mac support expected to follow shortly.

What Apple Pay Offers at Launch

Customers holding Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards can add their cards to Apple Pay and use them at thousands of in-store and online merchants across India, as well as at any outlet accepting NFC transactions. The service eliminates the need to enter PINs or receive OTPs at checkout, streamlining the card payment experience across stores, apps, and the web.

Notably, Axis Bank is India's fourth-largest credit card issuer, with 16.23 million active credit cards — making it, according to Prabhu Ram, Vice President of the Industry Research Group at CMR, 'a meaningful starting point' for the service's Indian rollout.

Industry Experts on Apple Pay's Prospects

Ram described the launch as Apple completing 'the experience around hardware, software and services through a tight, seamless integration' in a digitally advanced payments market. He was clear, however, that Apple Pay is unlikely to displace UPI, which will continue to underpin everyday transactions for the vast majority of Indian consumers.

'Apple Pay gives Apple an opportunity to deepen the ecosystem experience for its existing user base — and potentially make card payments more seamless and relevant on Apple devices,' Ram said.

Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, echoed that assessment, noting the service could deepen card usage among Apple device owners by removing OTP friction at checkout. 'The key thing to watch is how quickly other leading banks come on board, because that will decide how far the addressable base expands,' Pathak said.

Credit Card Growth Adds Tailwind

India's credit card base has crossed 122 million, nearly doubling since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Pathak. Credit card usage and NFC adoption are both growing at double-digit rates, providing a structural tailwind for a service like Apple Pay even in a UPI-dominant environment.

Counterpoint Research's consumer surveys have also consistently ranked Apple Pay among the highest-rated Apple services for user satisfaction globally, suggesting brand pull could accelerate adoption among the existing Apple device base in India.

The UPI Question

The central challenge for Apple Pay in India is the sheer dominance of UPI, which has reshaped consumer payment behaviour over the past seven years. Unlike credit card-based NFC payments, UPI operates across virtually all smartphones and bank accounts, making it the default rails for everyday commerce. Experts argue Apple Pay is best positioned as a premium complement — smoothing card transactions for iPhone users — rather than a challenger to UPI's mass-market grip.

With bank partnerships beyond Axis Bank still to be announced, the pace of expansion will be closely watched by both the fintech industry and Apple's competitors in the payments space.