Apple Restores Card Payments for App Store, iCloud in India After 4-Year Gap

Apple has resumed accepting card payments for App Store and iCloud in India following RBI tokenisation compliance, ending a four-year reliance on UPI and net banking. The move sets the stage for a phased Apple Pay rollout with ICICI, HDFC and Axis banks in coming months.

— Source publishedMon, 6 Jul, 2026, 15:11 IST·First seen Mon, 6 Jul, 2026, 15:17 IST·Source Inc42

What happened

Apple has resumed accepting card payments for App Store and iCloud in India after four years, following RBI tokenisation compliance, ahead of a phased Apple Pay

Key facts

  • 4 years
  • 24 hours

Why this matters

The phased Apple Pay rollout with three major Indian banks opens partnership and integration windows for issuers, fintechs and merchants positioning for the next wave of premium mobile payments.

What to watch

  • Official Apple Pay India launch date or bank co-announcement
  • RBI/NPCI statements on tokenisation or data localisation compliance
  • App Store India revenue or subscription growth disclosures
  • Interchange fee agreements or MDR structure for Apple Pay
  • UPI transaction share shifts and competitor response campaigns
  • Apple negotiates interchange and co-branding terms with ICICI, HDFC, Axis for phased Apple Pay pilot
  • Rival wallets (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm) reinforce UPI-first loyalty programs to blunt Apple Pay entry
  • Card networks (Visa, Mastercard) push tokenised card-on-file adoption across Indian merchants
  • Apple expands App Store subscription and iCloud upsell campaigns now that friction is removed

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