Apple Pay is expected to launch in India by October 2026, initially supporting only Visa and Mastercard credit cards and excluding UPI, according to medianama.com. The launch timeline aligns with Apple’s annual iPhone release, though the company has not officially confirmed the details. Currently, Apple Pay operates in over 90 countries worldwide.
Apple has informed industry contacts that the service will debut without UPI integration due to pending approvals from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the need for a partnership with a sponsor bank to route transactions. Consequently, the initial rollout will be limited to NFC card payments and online card transactions. Negotiations with Indian banks have stalled over interchange fees, with Apple requesting 15-20 basis points per transaction while banks have offered about 10 basis points.
The absence of UPI at launch restricts Apple Pay’s reach compared to widely accepted, free UPI-based apps used by Indian merchants. The interchange fee dispute is a key factor, as the fee would be deducted from banks’ existing interchange revenue rather than adding charges to customers or merchants. This launch marks Apple’s entry into a competitive Indian digital payments market dominated by UPI and local wallets.
Apple Pay’s launch in India is tentatively scheduled for late September or October 2026, coinciding with the iPhone launch event, according to medianama.com. The service will initially support only Visa and Mastercard credit cards, without UPI integration.