Apple Pay Set to Enter India Market; Launch Expected by Late 2026

Apple is gearing up to introduce its digital payments service, Apple Pay, in India, marking a significant expansion of its financial services footprint in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital payments markets, as per Business Standard report.  

The launch is expected towards the end of calendar year 2026, subject to regulatory clearances and commercial agreements. 

India Launch Timeline and Regulatory Path 

The Cupertino-headquartered company has been exploring an India entry for Apple Pay for some time but must secure approvals from regulators and align with local payment ecosystem norms.  

Apple is also in discussions with major card issuers to finalise commercial terms related to transaction fees for the payment gateway. 

Apple Pay will be offered through Apple Payments Services, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., and is expected to debut with card-based contactless payments rather than Unified Payments Interface (UPI). 

Product Offering and Use Case 

In India, Apple Pay is likely to roll out its ‘tap-to-pay’ functionality, similar to its offering in around 50 global markets.  

Users will be able to store their credit and debit cards in Apple Wallet and make payments by tapping compatible Apple devices at NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals. 

The service is designed exclusively for Apple devices, including iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. Unlike existing digital payment apps in India, Apple Pay will not be device-agnostic. 

Fit Within India’s Payments Landscape 

Apple Pay’s entry comes amid rapid growth in contactless payments, card tokenisation and digital wallets in India.  

While UPI dominates everyday digital transactions, card-based contactless payments are expanding steadily, creating room for differentiated offerings such as Apple Pay. 

Payment aggregators are expected to support the service as it leverages existing technologies like device tokenisation, enabling secure and frictionless transactions at merchant outlets. 

Read More: Apple’s India iPhone Exports Hit Record $2 Billion in November! 

Conclusion 

Apple Pay’s planned India launch in 2026 signals Apple’s intent to build a broader services ecosystem in the country, leveraging its growing device base and the steady shift toward contactless digital payments. 

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