Apple in Talks with Indian Banks to Launch Apple Pay by Mid-2026

Apple Inc. is in discussions with major Indian banks—ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank—and global card networks Visa and Mastercard to launch Apple Pay in India around mid-2026. The service is expected to support both India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and traditional card payments, entering a competitive market led by Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, and Paytm. The timeline remains flexible, and Apple has not commented. The launch aligns with India's recent biometric authentication rules and could enhance Apple's presence amid growing smartphone sales and retail expansion.