Apple Pay launches in India with support for Axis credit cards

Apple Pay has made its long-awaited entry into India's digital payments market, offering users a contactless payment option through their Apple devices. The service currently supports Axis Bank credit cards issued on Visa and Mastercard networks, enabling seamless transactions at compatible merchant terminals.

The launch is available to iPhone and iPad users, with the company signaling plans to extend compatibility to Mac devices in the near future. Users can add their eligible Axis credit cards to their Apple Wallet and make payments by authenticating through Face ID, Touch ID, or their device passcode.

The initial rollout notably excludes support for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay cards, two of India's most widely used digital payment rails. UPI has become the dominant digital payment method in the country, with millions of daily transactions, while RuPay is the domestic card scheme promoted by the National Payments Corporation of India.

Apple's entry into India's payments ecosystem comes as the country sees accelerating adoption of digital wallets and contactless payments. The move signals the technology giant's commitment to the Indian market, though broader support for local payment methods may be necessary to achieve significant user adoption.