Overview
- Apple launched Apple Pay in India on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and the service initially supports Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards only.
- Eligible devices must run recent software: iPhone XR or later with iOS 18 or newer, and Apple Watch Series 6 or later with watchOS 11.
- PayU and named payment partners such as Pine Labs, Razorpay, Paytm and Worldline are integrating Apple Pay to enable NFC tap payments and in‑app or Safari checkouts for merchants.
- Apple Pay uses tokenization by storing a unique Device Account Number in the device Secure Element and requires Face ID, Touch ID or passcode for each purchase to protect card data.
- The launch does not include RuPay or UPI support, so Apple Pay is positioned as a card-based contactless option that will matter most to credit-card users while Apple, banks and partners add more cards and Mac support over time.