Apple Pay Expected to Launch in India Next Month With Axis Bank

Apple is expected to launch Apple Pay in India next month, initially partnering with Axis Bank for credit cards. The company is still negotiating with larger lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, with talks reportedly stalled over transaction commissions. The initial service is expected to support contactless payments using tokenized Visa and Mastercard cards, while UPI integration may come later as discussions with India’s payments authorities continue. Apple is pursuing a bank-by-bank rollout in a market where UPI accounts for most digital payments, even as its share of India’s smartphone market has grown.