Breaking: Apple Pay arrives in India; enabled with Axis Bank Credit Cards as of September 30, 2026

After years of waiting, Apple Pay has finally arrived in India. Apple has launched the service with Axis Bank, initially supporting eligible Axis Bank credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks.

The rollout went live on September 30, 2026, making India one of the last major markets to get Apple’s payments service. For Indian iPhone users, this means that a card can finally be added to Apple Wallet and used for contactless payments at supported terminals, as well as for online purchases where Apple Pay is accepted.

Apple Pay in India starts with Axis Bank

At launch, Apple Pay is limited to eligible Axis Bank credit cards issued on Visa and Mastercard. That means the service isn’t yet available across the entire Axis Bank card portfolio, and India’s home-grown RuPay network and American Express aren’t supported. Axis Bank cards on other networks therefore won’t appear in Apple Wallet just because Axis Bank issued them.

Some of India’s largest card issuers also don’t support it yet, although they are expected to sign up quickly. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI Card are not part of the launch, with Apple understood to still be working through commercial arrangements with other banks. Reuters had reported earlier this month that Apple was in discussions with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, but that commercial terms had not yet been agreed.

Apple Pay will allow an eligible Axis Bank cardholder to take the card stored in their iPhone or Apple Watch and tap to pay at a compatible terminal. You don’t need to present the physical card. For instance, this morning, when I opened the Wallet app, I saw this screen. Mind you, my Debit Card did not turn up, only the credit cards did.

From there, I could quickly add 2 of my most-used cards to Apple Pay: the Axis Bank Olympus and the Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card.

Once the cards showed up in my Apple Wallet, I could also sync them with my Apple Watch in no time.

That is a convenience for anyone who already uses credit cards extensively, particularly premium cardholders accustomed to contactless payments overseas. But it does not suddenly turn Apple Wallet into a replacement for India’s UPI ecosystem.

The terminal problem

Another wrinkle Indian users are likely to discover quickly. Having an eligible Axis Bank card and an iPhone is not necessarily enough.

Apple Pay transactions need merchant payment terminals and the relevant payments infrastructure to support them. While Apple and the PoS infrastructure providers such as PineLabs have been working to expand online and offline acceptance in the preparation phase, this is still a work in progress. So, acceptance at launch will be limited to merchants and terminals that have enabled Apple Pay support. It is therefore possible for an Apple Pay transaction to work at one terminal and fail at another, even at merchants that otherwise accept contactless cards.

What Apple Pay actually adds for cardholders

The biggest benefit is convenience. Instead of pulling an Axis Bank credit card out of a wallet, an iPhone user can authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID and tap the phone or Apple Watch on a compatible terminal. Apple says that the actual card number is not shared with merchants and that transactions use a unique security code, with the payment card stored in a tokenised form on the device. That makes Apple Pay particularly interesting for people who travel internationally.

For someone carrying an Axis Atlas, Magnus, Reserve, or another eligible Axis Bank Visa or Mastercard, for example, being able to leave the physical card in the wallet and use the iPhone or Apple Watch instead is a small but meaningful improvement. And for travellers, it could be particularly useful in countries where contactless payments are ubiquitous.

The Axis Bank launch is only the beginning if Apple Pay is to become genuinely useful in India. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are both larger credit card issuers than Axis Bank, and both have reportedly been in discussions with Apple.

Bottomline

Apple has finally brought the missing piece of the iPhone experience to Indian-issued credit cards, starting with Axis Bank customers. For now, that means eligible Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards can be added to Apple Wallet and used for contactless and online payments where Apple Pay is supported. HDFC Bank or ICICI Bank might be next.

What do you think of Apple Pay finally arriving in India? 

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