Apple Pay launches in India through Axis Bank — the first step in one of the world’s largest digital payments markets

Apple Pay has officially launched in India through a partnership with Axis Bank, the lender announced on Wednesday, as Reuters reports. With this move, the tech giant enters for the first time one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital payments markets.

Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private bank, will be the first in the country to offer the service, according to the bank’s announcement. In the first phase, the service will be available to customers with credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks, while cards on the domestic RuPay network will not be accepted.

Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president for Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in a statement that India has a dynamic, digitally savvy population that is rapidly embracing a cashless future while demanding the highest standards of security and privacy — and that the company is excited to bring Apple Pay to Indian users.

Axis Bank is India’s fourth-largest credit card issuer, with 16.3 million cards in circulation as of August, out of 124 million nationwide, according to central bank data. The rollout helps Apple bring its payments system to the world’s most populous country, one of the few major economies where it was not yet present.

According to earlier Reuters reporting, Apple Pay has also held talks with the country’s biggest banks, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, but without reaching a commercial agreement. The main challenge in India is UPI, the Indian real-time bank payments system, which accounts for 84% of digital payment volumes and is the world’s largest fast retail payments system by transaction volume, according to a 2025 IMF report.

Customers can add eligible cards through the Axis Bank app or Apple Wallet and pay in stores, in apps and online with an iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad. Apple Pay allows contactless payments without entering a PIN or one-time code, authenticating transactions through Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode.