{
  "id": 11047134,
  "title": "Apple launches payment service across India",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/apple-launches-payment-service-across-india",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-30T21:27:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Qatar Tribune Business",
    "slug": "qatar-tribune-business",
    "url": "https://www.qatar-tribune.com/article/256939/business/apple-launches-payment-service-across-india"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Apple announced on Wednesday the launch of its payment service Apple Pay across India, aiming to capitalize on the country's vast digital payments market. Currently, over 80% of India's digital transactions are facilitated through the United Payments Interface (UPI), which is recognized as the world's largest real-time payment system by volume, as per the IMF. Major apps such as PhonePe, Google Pay (Alphabet's), and Paytm also hold significant market share in the Indian market.\n\nThis initiative is made possible through a partnership with Axis Bank, India's third-largest private lender. Axis Bank customers now have the option to store their credit card information in Apple Wallet, enabling them to conduct payments using their iPhones or Apple Watches at thousands of merchants both in-store and online across India.\n\nJennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, expressed enthusiasm about bringing Apple Pay to India, a country home to a digitally savvy population that continues to favor cashless transactions. Although Android smartphones are more prevalent among Indian customers, a rising number of affluent individuals are opting for iPhones.\n\nAs of 2025, Apple had sold more than 14 million units in India. The company has been striving to establish India as a crucial manufacturing and export base for its products to lessen its reliance on China. India is responsible for about 25% of global iPhone production, according to local reports.\n\nApple Pay's expansion is also timely as India's government recently permitted banks and payment apps to levy a small fee on larger UPI transactions for the first time in six years. This change, announced this month, is aimed at sustaining the digital infrastructure. However, critics argue that it may slow down usage, as merchants might pass on the additional cost to customers.",
  "summary": "AgenciesApple said Wednesday it had rolled out its payment service in India as it looks to grab a slice of the lucrative digital payments market in the world’s most populous countr...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}