Apple Pay is available in India on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch for Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards, with RuPay cards excluded at launch and Mac support still to come.
Apple Pay launched in India on 30 September, giving iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch users a way to pay in stores, in apps and on the web without entering a PIN or one-time password at checkout. Apple said Mac support is coming later. Axis Bank is the first Indian issuer, and only its Visa and Mastercard credit cards can be added at launch.
RuPay cards are not eligible, Reuters reported. Axis is India's third-largest private lender and, by Reserve Bank of India data cited by Reuters, the fourth-largest credit-card issuer, with 16.3 million cards outstanding as of August out of 124 million nationwide.
Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said India has a digitally active population that expects high standards of security and privacy. Axis Bank managing director Amitabh Chaudhry said the bank wanted payment experiences that stay relevant as security and customer expectations change. Card rewards continue to apply when customers pay with Apple Pay.
Apple said the service would be accepted by millions of merchants, naming Apple Store locations, Blinkit, Chaayos, Comet, Croma, Interflora, Ixigo, Le15 Patisserie, Reliance brands, Tata 1mg and Zomato among them, as well as anywhere NFC transactions are accepted.
The launch is Apple's first foothold for the wallet in one of the largest digital-payments markets where the service had not been available. No expansion date for other banks or for RuPay was given in the company announcement.
People Sentiments Positive
- Jennifer Bailey said Apple was excited to bring Apple Pay to users in India
- Amitabh Chaudhry said Axis Bank wanted payment experiences that remain trusted and relevant