Apple Pay Launches In India With Axis Bank Partnership: What IPhone Users Need To Know

Apple has launched Apple Pay in India

Apple Pay has launched in India as the tech giant partners with Axis Bank to offer the contactless mobile payment service. The service will initially be available to eligible Axis Bank customers with Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Apple Pay will be available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with Mac support expected to be unveiled soon. The service lets users add eligible credit cards from participating banks including Axis, and make payments in stores and apps that accept contactless payments from Apple Pay, without having to enter their card details.

How Apple Pay Works in India

• With Apple Pay, users can make contactless payments by authorizing them with Face ID, Touch ID or passcode. To pay in a store, users need only to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a contactless reader.
• In apps and on websites, Apple Pay gives users another quick and secure way to pay, without repeatedly entering their card details. Apple says users will not be required to enter their card's PIN or one-time-password (OTP) for payments made with Apple Pay.

Axis Bank Cards Available at Launch

Apple Pay supports Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued by Axis Bank at launch. RuPay cards are not supported by the initial release of Apple Pay. Axis Bank customers will be able to use the Apple Pay service by adding their eligible credit cards to Apple Wallet or to the Axis Bank app.

Axis Bank is the first bank in India to support Apple Pay, with Apple saying that other local banks are also in talks to join the service. The company has already engaged in preliminary talks with several major Indian banks, including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

Apple Pay Values Security and Privacy

Apple Pay puts a strong focus on security and privacy, with Apple saying that users' actual card numbers are never stored on the device or on Apple servers, or shared with merchants. Instead, a Device Account Number is generated, which is encrypted and stored in the device's Secure Element.

Apple's Find My service can help users who have lost their iPhone or had it stolen, by helping them find, lock or disable payments from their device.

Where Can Apple Pay Be Used?

Apple Pay launches with support from a wide range of merchants across India. These include Apple Store flagship stores, Blinkit, Croma, Ixigo, Reliance brands, Tata 1mg and Zomato, among others. Apple has also worked with payment service providers Cashfree, JusPay, Mswipe, Paytm, PayU, Pine Labs, Razorpay and Worldline, to boost merchant acceptance of Apple Pay.

Apple Pay and India's Digital Payments Landscape

• Apple Pay has launched at a time when India's digital payments landscape is dominated by UPI, with Reuters reporting last year that UPI accounted for around 84% of India's digital payments by value. While Apple Pay will compete with UPI, the company has said that it views Apple Pay as one of several payment options for Indians, alongside India's existing digital payment infrastructure.
• Apple Pay has launched in more than 90 countries and regions, and is available with more than 11,000 bank and network partners globally. The local launch means that Apple users in India can now take advantage of another contactless option for paying with eligible credit cards, both in stores and online.