Apple Pay launched in India without support for UPI, which handles 84% of the country's digital payment transactions. This decision means Apple is sidelining India's dominant payment rail to push its own card-based system. Only Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cardholders can currently use the service.
How We Got Here
NPCI, the owner of UPI, requires Third Party Application Providers like Apple to obtain a TPAP licence via a sponsor bank. Google faced similar friction launching Tez (now Google Pay) in 2017, highlighting platform dependence on NPCI policies.
The Numbers
- Apple Pay currently offers no support for RuPay cards.
- Pranav Pai of 3one4 Capital expects deeper smartphone-fintech integrations leading to both competition and partnerships.
- The service enables in-app, web, and contactless payments at NFC-enabled terminals.
- Merchants like Zomato, Blinkit, and Croma accept Apple Pay at launch.
- Apple Pay uses a unique Device Account Number, preventing merchants from seeing actual card details.
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For millions of engineers in Bangalore building payment solutions, Apple's proprietary approach challenges the prevailing UPI-first product design philosophy in their work.
The Take
Apple will likely remain a niche player in India's payments landscape for at least the next 12-18 months. Their unwillingness to integrate UPI ensures limited mainstream adoption beyond premium cardholders.
Source:
MediaNama ↗