Apple Pay Aiming Launch in India This Year

A billion users are waiting

Apple Pay is set to go live in the Indian market by the end of 2026, according to a report by Business Standard. The service still requires regulatory approvals before it can go live in the country, but Apple is reportedly working with banks, regulators, and card networks to bring the payment service to India within the year, claims the publication's sources.

Once launched, Apple Pay is also expected to offer its Tap to Pay on iPhone feature, allowing users in India to make contactless payments at point-of-sale terminals via NFC. But before that can happen, Apple will have to negotiate fees with major card issuers for use of the payment gateway.

Source: MacRumors

NB: Apple is the biggest exporter out of India. That m…

…ight help with regulatory approvals. Apple is said to be in discussions with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank. Apple is talking through the plan with global payment networks Mastercard and Visa. UPI dominates digital payments in India, and Apple Pay is expected to support the state-backed payments interface, which allows customers to instantly transfer money and bills. My estimates: there are over 1.1 billion cell phone numbers in use in India of which 659 million are attached to smartphone users using 988 million smartphones but only 117 million are iPhones used by 97 million Indians. India offers more than a decade of double digit growth potential.