Apple Pay
Apple Pay is expanding into India, launching on September 30 with Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards (Business Today, 5 Oct), with Juspay and Cashfree enabling merchant checkout (Inc42, 30 Sept). Growth depends on adding banks and merchants, RuPay is not supported at launch (ET BrandEquity, 3 Oct), and HDFC Bank has not confirmed a rollout (Business Today).
What it means UPI-led wallets and card networks face a premium card-based entrant, while Axis Bank holds the only issuer slot.
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Background
From 7 stories, the newest dated 5 Oct 2026. Summary written 6 Oct 2026.
Show 3 paragraphs and 7 sources
Apple Pay is Apple's payment service, which launched in India on September 30 with eligible Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards.[1] source: Business Today[2] source: Inc42 Users can pay in apps, online and at contactless-enabled stores.[2] source: Inc42 RuPay is not supported at launch.[3] source: ET BrandEquity[4] source: Business Today
ET BrandEquity noted that Apple Pay entered a market with more than 124 million credit cards outstanding in August, of which Axis Bank has over 16 million.[3] source: ET BrandEquity PayU announced Apple Pay support on 30 September 2026 for a merchant network serving more than 4.5 lakh businesses.[4] source: Business Today Razorpay enabled Apple Pay following the RBI's alternative authentication framework, effective April 2026, with Zepto, ixigo, IndiGo, Tata 1mg and JioMart among the businesses offering it.[5] source: YourStory Juspay and Cashfree are enabling merchant checkout adoption,[2] source: Inc42 and EaseMyTrip added Apple Pay to its booking payments.[6] source: ET Small Business
SBI declined Apple Pay participation on commercial grounds.[7] source: CNBC-TV18 An HDFC Bank webpage lists Apple Pay among wallet examples, but neither HDFC Bank nor Apple has confirmed a rollout.[1] source: Business Today
Sources
Questions about Apple Pay
Who owns Apple Pay?
Apple Pay is a payment service from Apple. It launched in India on September 30 with Axis Bank as its first banking partner, and neither HDFC Bank nor Apple has confirmed any further bank rollout.[1] source: Business Today[2] source: Inc42
What is Apple Pay's current strategy in India?
Apple Pay launched in India on September 30, 2026 with Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards.[2] source: Inc42 PayU added it to its merchant network the same day.[4] source: Business Today Razorpay enabled it for online and supported in-store payments, reported in October 2026.[5] source: YourStory
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Apple Pay is named in these stories but is not their subject.