Apple Pay is being prepared for an India launch by October 2026, according to two separate reports published this month. Reuters reported on September 18 that the rollout would begin with Axis Bank credit cards. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman followed on September 20 with his own sourcing on the same October timeline. As of September 22, Apple and the banks named have not commented publicly, so treat all of this as reporting rather than settled fact.
Apple Pay in India: Axis Bank reported as the first partner
Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, says Axis Bank would be Apple’s first confirmed banking partner in India. The report describes Axis as the country’s fourth-largest credit-card issuer. It puts the bank at roughly 16.26 million active cards as of July, attributed to RBI data.
Apple has also held discussions with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, according to the same report. Commercial terms with those two banks have not been finalised. That is worth stating plainly: those deals are not done, and neither bank is confirmed for a launch-day lineup.
Gurman’s post on X is short and does not name a bank. Here is what he wrote:
Apple is gearing up to launch Apple Pay in India — finally — by October, I’m told.
The two reports disagree on UPI support
This is the detail that matters most for Indian users, and it is unresolved. Gurman says Apple is planning UPI support alongside card payments. Reuters’ account of the Axis Bank arrangement describes a card-based rollout and does not mention UPI at all.
Two credible newsrooms are saying different things about the same launch. Apple itself has said nothing. Until one version is confirmed, assume nothing about UPI on day one.
Why a card-only launch would land awkwardly
Reuters notes that UPI accounts for roughly 84% of India’s digital transaction volume. That number frames the whole story. Indian users have waited years for Apple Pay while UPI became the default way people move money.
Suppose what ships in October is one bank’s credit cards and nothing else. That product arrives into a market which has largely moved past card-present habits. A tap-to-pay wallet tied to a single issuer is narrow here. It would be a start, not the arrival Indian users have been waiting for.
Apple has been adjusting its India commercial strategy lately, including recent changes to iCloud+, Apple TV and Arcade pricing. A payments launch would fit that pattern. It would also give Apple a foothold it has lacked in one of its fastest-growing markets.
What to watch next
- An official word from Apple or Axis Bank — no announcement from either as of September 22.
- Whether UPI is part of the launch — the single biggest open question.
- HDFC and ICICI — reported to be in talks, with terms not finalised.
- Timing — both reports point to October 2026, but neither is an Apple commitment.
Sources: Mark Gurman, Bloomberg, Reuters, via Investing.com
