Sept 30 (Reuters) - Apple Pay has launched in India through a partnership with Axis Bank, giving the payment service its first foothold in one of the world's largest digital payments markets, the lender said on Wednesday.
Axis Bank, India's third-largest private lender, will be the first Indian bank to offer Apple Pay, initially to customers with credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks.
Cards on India's homegrown RuPay network will not be eligible.
"India is home to a dynamic and digitally savvy population that continues to embrace a cashless future while expecting the highest standards of security and privacy, and we're so excited to bring Apple Pay to users in India today," Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in a statement.
Axis Bank is India's fourth-largest credit card issuer, with 16.3 million cards outstanding as of August, out of 124 million nationwide, central bank data showed.
The launch would help the US company offer its payment service in the world's most populous country, one of the few major economies where it is not available.
Apple Pay has also held talks with larger rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, but has yet to agree commercial terms, Reuters reported earlier this month.
India's Unified Payments Interface, a real-time bank transfer system, accounts for 84% of digital payment volumes and is the world's largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume, according to a 2025 IMF report.
Customers can add eligible cards through Axis Bank's mobile app or Apple Wallet and make payments in stores, in apps and online using an iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad, the lender said in a statement.
Apple Pay lets users make contact less payments without entering a card PIN or one-time password, authenticating transactions through Face ID, Touch ID or a device passcode.
(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru and Jaspreet Kalra in Mumbai; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
