Apple is working towards launching its payment service, Apple Pay, in India’s South Asian market. The company is in talks with NPCI and other relevant authorities to make this possible.
Apple has been eager to introduce its payment system, known as Apple Pay, in India for a while. Apple wants iPhone users in India to be able to scan QR codes and initiate UPI transactions without needing to use any PSP app, the people said, requesting anonymity because the conversations were private. Apple has recently engaged with numerous Indian authorities and officials and plans to soon speak with NPCI regarding the launch of its payments service Apple Pay in the South Asian market.
A request for comment sent to Apple on May 24 received no response. There hasn’t been any prior information about Apple Pay’s resuming talks with India. Apple intends to speak with local regulatory organisation, particularly the NPCI, a special section of India’s Reserve Bank of India.
Apple Pay would be entering a market that is extremely competitive and already has firms like PhonePe, GooglePay, WhatsAppPay, and Paytm.
Tim Cook reportedly met with Indian authorities to discuss a localized version of Apple Pay, which would allow users to scan QR codes and start UPI transactions without the use of outside apps, according to news agency ANI. Apple also wants consumers to utilize the Face ID function to confirm UPI transactions.
Apple wants iPhone users in India to be able to scan QR codes and initiate UPI transactions without needing to use any PSP app, the people said, requesting anonymity because the conversations were private. Apple has recently engaged with numerous Indian authorities and officials and plans to soon speak with NPCI regarding the launch of its payments service Apple Pay in the South Asian market.
Apple hasn’t yet started talks with regional partners (banks), though. In March, Apple unveiled “Apple Pay Later,” a buy-now, pay-later service available to only a small number of US customers.
Apple Pay Later, which was first introduced at the WWDC in 2017, enables consumers to divide the cost of an Apple Pay Purchase into four equal installments over the course of six weeks with no interest or late fees.
Because India is a small market for Apple, the potential introduction of Apple Pay there is unlikely to upend the ecosystem’s established players, who handle more than 8 billion transactions monthly on the UPI platform. Android is installed on more than 90% of all smartphones in India.
