Apple Pay is coming to India in Oct’26:Will not support UPI based payements initally; know all the details

After years of waiting, Apple Pay may finally be heading to India. Apple is in talks with major Indian credit card companies to bring its payments service to the country in late September or early October, Business Standard reports. However, the India launch could look quite different from Apple Pay in other countries. Apple Pay may launch without UPI The biggest catch? UPI may not be part of Apple Pay at launch. To offer UPI payments, Apple would need approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and a banking partner to support the transactions. For now, Apple appears to be choosing a simpler credit-card-first approach. So, Apple Pay may not immediately become an alternative to everyday UPI apps such as Google Pay or PhonePe. Credit cards could be the main feature The first version of Apple Pay in India is expected to focus on credit cards using networks such as Visa and Mastercard. Users could add supported credit cards to Apple Wallet and use their iPhone to make contactless payments at compatible payment machines. The process would be similar to Apple Pay in other countries: authenticate the payment on the iPhone and simply tap the phone on the payment terminal instead of using a physical card. Apple and banks are still negotiating fees Money could be another major hurdle. Apple is reportedly seeking around 15–20 basis points from each credit card transaction, while some banks are pushing for a lower rate of about 10 basis points. One basis point equals 0.01%. Importantly, this fee would not be directly charged to customers. It would come from the revenue banks earn from card transactions. When Apple Pay arriving? Apple has not officially confirmed the launch date or India-specific details. But the Apple Pay support page in now live in India. iPhone users in India could soon get an official way to store supported credit cards in Apple Wallet and make tap-to-pay payments, more than a decade after Apple Pay first launched globally.