After nearly a decade of efforts, Apple Pay has announced plans to enter India’s digital payments market towards the end of the year. This marks one of the few major developed markets that the company hasn’t yet penetrated. However, its entry will face challenges, particularly due to initial non-integration with India’s widely used Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system.

The launch is expected to focus on card-based contactless payments, allowing iPhone users to tap and pay at various points of sale such as stores, restaurants, fuel stations, and more. This initiative targets credit card users and international payments, catering to a premium customer segment in a market where India’s share of the global cross-border payments market is estimated to be around $300 billion.

Apple’s hardware business has seen significant growth in India, with the company recording its highest-ever quarterly shipments of 5 million units in Q3 2025. These sales account for roughly one-fifth of Apple’s total iPhone sales.

Head-to-Head with UPI

Despite the high adoption rate of UPI, which controls 85% of all digital transactions in India, Apple Pay won’t initially integrate with this system. This decision stems from regulatory and technical complexities. For instance, Google Pay processes approximately 7 billion UPI transactions per month, making it a formidable competitor to Apple Pay in the Indian market. Additionally, Google recently launched its first credit card in the region, further expanding its presence.

Outside of the UPI ecosystem, digital payments have been scarce and declining. RuPay, India’s national card network operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), saw a significant drop in transaction volume from 1.2 billion transactions in 2023 to just 664 million through November 2025.

Stumbling Blocks

Apple has been eyeing the Indian market since at least 2017, but bureaucratic and technical hurdles have consistently hindered its progress. India’s central bank mandates data localization, meaning Apple must either establish local data centers or partner with compliant Indian financial entities. Biometric identification regulations in India also present additional challenges.