Apple Pay launches in India with Axis Bank credit cards; UPI and RuPay excluded
Eligible Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards are supported at launch, but UPI and RuPay are not. Uneven merchant acceptance could further limit initial retail reach. Additional issuers are planned, with no confirmed timeline.
The channel move
Apple launched Apple Pay in India with Axis Bank, which had 16.26 million active cards in July. Only eligible Visa and Mastercard credit cards work; UPI and RuPay are unsupported, and merchant acceptance may be uneven.
Channel facts
- 2014
- October
- 16.26 million active cards
- July
- iOS 18 or later
- Apple Watch Series 6 or later
- watchOS 11 or later
- about 84%
- August 2026
- 24.51 billion transactions
- ₹29.82 trillion
- about 20 basis points
- roughly 40 to 50 basis points
- 28%
- 2025
- 23%
- 8%
- 2022
What it means for online and offline
Explore issuer and merchant-acceptance partnerships around Apple Pay, but gate expansion commitments on confirmed bank onboarding and evidence of customer adoption.
Signals to track
- Additional issuers going live, with confirmed card eligibility rather than partnership announcements alone.
- Official inclusion of UPI or RuPay, which would materially change the addressable market.
- Successful transaction rates across stores, apps and websites where support is offered.
- Repeat usage after launch incentives expire, separated from initial card provisioning.
- Checkout conversion gains among eligible shoppers versus simple migration from existing card payments.
- Merchant expansion beyond premium retail into broader categories and locations.
- Axis is likely to promote eligible-card provisioning and first transactions, potentially using targeted incentives.
- Premium and iPhone-heavy retailers are likely to test acceptance, checkout placement and staff readiness before broader investment.
- Merchants will likely preserve UPI and existing card flows rather than redesign checkout around Apple Pay.
- Other issuers are likely to assess participation against active usage and retention, not launch publicity alone.
The counter-case
This could be a niche checkout addition rather than a meaningful omni-channel shift. Restricting eligibility to Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards, excluding UPI and RuPay, and uneven merchant acceptance could sharply constrain reach. Existing card payments may simply migrate to Apple Pay without generating incremental sales or materially improving conversion.