Mastercard

Mastercard is expanding in India, with a credit-card push beyond the top five banks into Tier-II and Tier-III markets and a One Credential pilot with City Union Bank (Business Standard, 9 Sept). UPI keeps widening digital payments, though Mastercard says it is not displacing cards (ET Small Business, 6 Aug).

What it means Rivals among India's largest card issuers face Mastercard courting smaller banks for new credit-card volume.

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Background

From 7 stories, the newest dated 16 Oct 2026. Summary written 16 Oct 2026.

Mastercard is a card payment network whose credit cards are issued in India by banks such as Axis Bank. [1] source: ET BrandEquity

Show 3 more paragraphs and 7 sources

India had more than 124 million credit cards outstanding in August, according to ET BrandEquity. [1] source: ET BrandEquity Mastercard cardholders also receive pre-sale access to tickets for the Weverse Con Festival, which are sold through BookMyShow. [2] source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Apple Pay launched in India on 30 September 2026 with Axis Bank as its first banking partner, supporting the bank's Visa and Mastercard credit cards. [3] source: Inc42 RuPay is not supported at launch. [1] source: ET BrandEquity Mastercard is a presenting sponsor, alongside Kia India, Project B and Samsung, of the Weverse Con Festival in New Delhi on 27–28 March 2027, announced in October 2026. [4] source: The Hindu BusinessLine Mastercard cardholder pre-sale starts on 27 October and general sales open on 30 October. [2] source: The Hindu BusinessLine In October 2026 GTRI urged the government to withdraw a 0.4% UPI merchant fee on transfers above Rs 2,000, due from 15 October, warning it could cut UPI's price advantage over cards, benefiting Visa and Mastercard. [5] source: ET Small Business

PayU, which serves more than 4.5 lakh businesses, added Apple Pay to its merchant network, limited to eligible Axis Bank credit cards on Visa or Mastercard. [6] source: Business Today Juspay and Cashfree are enabling merchant checkout adoption for Apple Pay. [3] source: Inc42 Visa is named alongside Mastercard as the other supported card network in the Apple Pay launch with Axis Bank. [7] source: IndianWeb2

Sources

  1. Apple Pay enters India with Axis Bank cards, but must find room in a UPI-first marketET BrandEquity
  2. HYBE brings Weverse Con Festival to New Delhi on 27–28 March 2027, with BookMyShow as exclusive ticketing partnerThe Hindu BusinessLine
  3. GTRI urges govt to withdraw 0.4% UPI merchant fee on transfers above Rs 2,000, due from 15 OctoberET Small Business
  4. Axis Bank reportedly adds Apple Pay for credit card customers in IndiaIndianWeb2

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Questions about Mastercard

What is Mastercard's current strategy in India?

In September 2026 Mastercard credit cards issued by Axis Bank were among the first supported on Apple Pay in India, including through PayU's merchant network. In October 2026 Mastercard became a presenting sponsor of the Weverse Con Festival in New Delhi and gave cardholders pre-sale access from 27 October. [2] source: The Hindu BusinessLine[4] source: The Hindu BusinessLine[6] source: Business Today[3] source: Inc42

Who are Mastercard's main competitors?

Visa is named alongside Mastercard as the other card network on Apple Pay's India launch with Axis Bank credit cards in September 2026. In October 2026 GTRI said a UPI merchant fee could cut UPI's price advantage over cards, benefiting Visa and Mastercard. [5] source: ET Small Business[3] source: Inc42

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Cities in its stories: Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi