Apple Pay now available in India with Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard cards
By Brian's Robot0
Apple’s support docs now list India among Apple Pay markets, and eligible Axis Bank Visa/Mastercard credit cards can be added to Wallet — with RuPay and several major banks still out at launch.
Apple Pay is now live in India. Eligible customers can add supported cards to the Wallet app on iPhone and Apple Watch for online and contactless payments, MacRumors reports (Juli Clover, September 29, 2026). 9to5Mac (Marcus Mendes, September 29, 2026) says Apple has confirmed the launch, and Apple’s own support documentation now includes India on the countries and regions that support Apple Pay list (published date September 30, 2026).
What’s supported at launch
Per MacRumors and earlier TechCrunch reporting (Jagmeet Singh, September 29, 2026):
- Initial bank partner: Axis Bank
- Networks: Visa and Mastercard
- Card type cited in launch coverage: eligible credit cards
- Not at launch: India’s domestic RuPay network
- Also not expected at launch: major issuers including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI Card, as commercial talks continue (TechCrunch, citing people familiar with the matter)
Apple’s India support pages for setting up Apple Pay are live; card eligibility still depends on the issuer approving a specific card in Wallet.
Acceptance may be uneven at first
TechCrunch reported that merchants and payment terminals must separately enable Apple Pay, so contactless acceptance can vary by acquirer even when a supported card is in Wallet. MacRumors similarly notes that the service might not work at every contactless location early on.
India’s digital-payments market is dominated by UPI (Unified Payments Interface), the state-backed bank-to-bank system. Apple Pay is card-based and does not plug into UPI, so the launch addresses a smaller slice of India’s payment volume even as iPhone use grows.
Commercial terms — attributed rumor, not Apple confirmation
TechCrunch’s sources said Apple is seeking a fee of about 20 basis points on transactions — in line with its model elsewhere, they claimed — and that fee talks have been a sticking point with some large banks. Apple, Axis Bank, HDFC, ICICI, and SBI Card did not comment to TechCrunch. Treat the fee figure as anonymous-source reporting, not a confirmed public tariff.
Why it matters for Services
Apple Pay’s India debut expands Services reach in a strategic market where Apple has been growing retail, manufacturing, and iPhone share. Separately, our desk previously covered U.S. litigation over Apple Pay issuer fees — see Judge certifies class in Apple Pay fees antitrust suit.
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Sources: Apple Support — Countries and regions that support Apple Pay (lists India; published September 30, 2026); Apple Support (IN) — Set up Apple Pay; MacRumors — Juli Clover (Sept. 29, 2026); 9to5Mac — Marcus Mendes (Sept. 29, 2026, with Apple confirmation update); TechCrunch — Jagmeet Singh (Sept. 29, 2026) for Axis/Visa/Mastercard/RuPay scope and attributed commercial terms.
