Apple Pay to come to India soon with Axis Bank? How will it work for iPhone users? Here’s what we know
Apple is reported to launch Apple Pay in India this year. If true, Apple users will be able to access it with Axis Bank’s credit cards, Reuters reported.
Apple Pay to launch in India with Axis Bank: Report
Quoting sources, it is reported that the initial launch with the major banking partner of India is expected to allow Apple to offer its payment service in the world’s most populous country. India is among the major economies where Apple Pay is not available.
Why only Axis Bank
If true, the US company’s tie with the Mumbai-based Axis Bank might be the correct move. For the unversed, Axis Bank is the fourth-largest credit card issuer in the country with 16.26 million active credit cards in July, as per RBI data. Axis Bank trails behind HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and ICICI Bank in terms of credit card issuance, added the same data.
Apple Pay is expected to launch in India through direct partnerships with banks. While it is said to start with Axis Bank, it is believed that Apple is also in talks with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.
The company reportedly plans to add more lenders over time through separate agreements with individual banks. It seems it’s going by a phased approach as seen in other markets.
How Apple Pay would work in India
Once available, iPhone users would be able to make tap-and-pay purchases using tokenised versions of their card details stored on their devices. Users would be able to make contactless payments at compatible terminals without the hassle of opening a separate app for payments.
Apple Pay vs UPI
The coming of Apple Pay in India’s already crowded digital payments market means direct competition with the home-grown Unified Payments Interface (UPI). UPI, which enables payments through QR codes, phone numbers and tap-and-pay, continues to dominate the Indian market. It accounts for 84% of India’s digital payments volume, as per Reuters. However, Apple Pay will differ from UPI in one major way.
The process of using Apple Pay in India is expected to be the same as in any other country. Any user would be able to authenticate a payment using their iPhone and tap system. The only difference would be that bank accounts won’t directly get linked to Apple Pay as it is done in the case of UPI.
Users would be required to add an eligible debit or credit card issued by a participating bank to the Apple Wallet.. Apple Pay stores tokenised card details on the device for payments.
How Apple Pay makes payments more secure?
Apple Pay comes with an increased level of security during payments, which sets it apart. Apple Pay creates tokenised card details in the device that replace credit card information for payments. The system creates a Device Account Number that is encrypted and stored in the Secure Element of the device. Upon payment, the token is used by the merchants to process the transaction, which means they will never have the direct access to the user’s card details.
The growing presence of Apple in India’s smartphone market could support the possible Apple Pay rollout. Apple’s share of the country’s smartphone market doubled to 8% since 2022, according to Counterpoint Research.
