Apple Pay Launches in India With Axis Bank, but With Limits
Apple Pay is set to launch in India on September 29, 2026, with Axis Bank as its first banking partner. Eligible Axis Bank customers will be able to add their credit cards to Apple's Wallet app for online purchases and contactless tap-to-pay at supported terminals, according to sources reported by TechCrunch.
Initial support covers Axis Bank cards on Visa and Mastercard. Cards on India's RuPay network will not work at launch. Acceptance will be limited to merchants and payment terminals that have been enabled for the service.
Apple is seeking a fee of about 20 basis points on Apple Pay transactions in India. That equals 0.2%, or about 20 paise for every 100 rupees processed. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI Card are not expected to support the service at launch.
Earlier September reporting based on information from three sources familiar with the matter said Apple had held talks with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank about Apple Pay support but had not reached final terms, as summarized by The Next Web. Axis Bank is the fourth-largest credit card issuer in India, according to Payments Journal. Apple accounted for 28% of India's smartphone market by value in 2025, up from 23% a year earlier, per Counterpoint Research cited in the Sept. 29 reporting.
The broader context here is a launch constrained on three sides. One bank. Two networks. Only some acceptance points. Scope is narrow.
In my view, that narrow scope comes from the practical work of starting a wallet in a large market. Apple can test setup and payments with a single partner while terms with larger banks are still unsettled. The trade-off is volume. For now, use depends on whether a person holds an eligible Axis Bank card and whether a given checkout supports it.
Looking at what this means for teams building checkout systems, the basic pieces will feel familiar. Adding a card to the wallet, replacing card numbers with secure tokens, confirming with Face ID or Touch ID, and paying through standard Apple payment screens all carry over from other countries. Coverage is the variable. Teams will need to treat bank checks, network exclusions and terminal gaps as normal branches in their code, with backup payment options ready.
Worth flagging for the longer term is what live use makes possible. Real transactions give banks, networks and payment processors data on risk, support load and costs. That record usually makes later talks on fees and wider support easier. If more banks join and more stores accept it, iPhone owners get another simple way to pay and merchants get another smooth option without rebuilding their systems.
