---
title: "Apple Pay May Launch in India by October, but UPI Could Be Missing at First"
url: https://alitoday.com/apple-pay-may-launch-in-india-by-october-but-upi-could-be-missing-at-first/
date: 2026-08-14
modified: 2026-08-14
author: "Alitoday"
description: "NEW DELHI : Apple Pay could finally launch in India by October 2026, according to a report by Business Standard, which cited people familiar with the matter. The reported launch..."
categories:
  - "Business"
  - "News"
  - "Technology"
tags:
  - "Apple"
  - "Apple India"
  - "Apple Pay"
  - "NPCI"
  - "UPI"
image: https://i0.wp.com/alitoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/converted-3.webp?fit=840%2C506&ssl=1
word_count: 301
---

# Apple Pay May Launch in India by October, but UPI Could Be Missing at First

**NEW DELHI :** Apple Pay could finally launch in India by October 2026, according to a report by Business Standard, which cited people familiar with the matter.

The reported launch would mark Apple's entry into India's digital payments market after years of discussions with banks and payment networks.

[Apple Pay](https://alitoday.com/tag/apple-pay/) is expected to support major international credit card networks, including Visa and Mastercard. This would allow eligible cardholders to add their cards to [Apple ](https://alitoday.com/tag/apple/)Wallet and use supported Apple devices for contactless payments.

However, the service is not expected to support UPI at launch.

Apple would need approval from the National Payments Corporation of India ([NPCI](https://www.npci.org.in/)) and a partnership with a sponsor bank to process UPI transactions.

Discussions on these requirements are reportedly still ongoing.

The lack of UPI could be a major limitation for [Apple Pay in India](https://learn.applepay.apple/indiapaymentmethods), where the payment system has become a major part of everyday digital transactions.

Government data showed that more than 55.49 crore users were onboarded on UPI as of June 2026.

Apple has been working toward bringing Apple Pay to India for several months.

In February, reports said the company was in talks with major Indian banks, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, as well as Visa and Mastercard.

The latest report suggests Apple is now targeting October for the India launch, although Apple has not officially confirmed the date. The final launch timeline and features could therefore still change.

If the service launches without UPI, Apple Pay's initial focus in India is likely to be on credit-card-based contactless payments, rather than competing directly with UPI-focused apps such as Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm.

For Indian iPhone users, the arrival of [Apple Pay](https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/) would still be a significant development, but UPI support could ultimately determine how widely the service is adopted.