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 payments partners, with a possible launch timeline now around mid-2026, earlier than previously expected.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Apple is currently in talks 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 finalize payment and back-end fee structures ahead of rollout.
Earlier reports had suggested that Apple Pay could debut in India in late 2026. However, the latest information suggests that Apple may have fast-tracked its plans, aiming for a mid-2026 launch to take advantage of 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 payment system coming later. Apple is expected to support the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), alongside debit and credit cards.
However, UPI integration is said to be awaiting regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is said to be one of the main reasons for the delayed launch so far. Apple is also said to be negotiating commercial terms with card networks and may avoid the standard route of approving third-party UPI apps 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 like Google Pay and Amazon Pay.
Apple is yet to officially confirm its India launch plans. 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.
