Apple may finally be gearing up to bring Apple Pay to India. According to a new report, the Cupertino-based company is in advanced discussions with some of India’s largest banks and payment partners, with a potential launch timeline now pegged around mid-2026, earlier than previously expected.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Apple is currently in conversations with major Indian lenders including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank to enable Apple Pay in the country. Separately, Apple is also said to be engaging with global card networks such as Visa and Mastercard to finalise backend payment and fee structures ahead of the rollout.
Earlier reports had suggested that Apple Pay could debut in India toward the end of 2026. However, the latest information indicates that Apple may have fast-tracked its plans, aiming for a mid-2026 launch to tap into India’s rapidly expanding digital payments market and growing iPhone user base.
Sources indicate that Apple Pay in India will initially focus on card-based contactless payments, with deeper integration of India’s real-time payments system coming later. Apple is expected to support the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-operated Unified Payments Interface (UPI), alongside debit and credit cards.
However, UPI integration is reportedly awaiting regulatory clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is said to be one of the key reasons for the delayed launch so far. Apple is also reportedly negotiating commercial terms with card networks and may avoid the standard third-party UPI app approval route in the initial phase.
Once launched, Apple Pay will enter an already competitive payments ecosystem dominated by local platforms like PhonePe and BHIM, as well as global players such as Google Pay and Amazon Pay.
Apple has not officially confirmed its India launch plans yet. If the reported timeline holds, Apple Pay’s arrival in mid-2026 would mark a significant expansion of Apple’s services footprint in one of the world’s largest digital payments markets.
