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Apple Pay goes live in India on Axis Visa and Mastercard credit cards

Apple switched Apple Pay on in India on 30 September 2026 with Axis Bank as its only launch issuer. Axis credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks can be added to Apple Wallet on an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch and used at contactless terminals and online merchants. RuPay and American Express cards are not part of the rollout, nor are debit cards or any other Indian bank, and there is no UPI inside it. Nothing about the cards themselves changes: a tap through Apple Pay is the same card transaction, so it earns the card's ordinary rate.

What changed

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Launch · Axis Bank

Before

No Apple Pay in India; Indian cards could not be added to Apple Wallet

After

Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards can be added to Apple Wallet and used in stores and online; RuPay, Amex, debit cards and other banks not yet supported

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Apple Pay finally reached India on 30 September 2026, and it arrived with exactly one bank. Axis Bank is the launch issuer, and only its credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks can go into Apple Wallet. Add one on an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch and it works at any contactless terminal and at online merchants that take Apple Pay.

The list of what is left out is longer than the list of what is in. RuPay cards are out. American Express-network cards are out. Debit cards are out. HDFC, ICICI, SBI Card and every other Indian issuer are out for now. And there is no UPI anywhere inside it — this is a card wallet in a country that pays by QR code.

For a points collector the launch changes nothing on the card itself. A tap through Apple Pay is an ordinary card transaction on the same card number, so it earns whatever that Axis card already earns on the spend, and the same exclusions apply. No new accelerator, no new fee. The value is convenience, not points: it is the first way to tap an Indian credit card from a phone or watch without handing over the plastic.

Before: no Apple Pay in India; no Indian card could be added to Apple Wallet.

After: Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards can be added to Apple Wallet and used in stores and online. RuPay, Amex-network cards, debit cards and other banks are not supported at launch.

Sources: Axis Bank’s press release and Apple’s India newsroom, both 30 September 2026; corroborated by Live From A Lounge and Business Today.

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