# Apple Pay likely to launch in India by October without UPI 2026-08-12T07:56:14+00:00 | Technology | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Apple Pay is expected to launch in India as early as October 2026, initially supporting only Visa and Mastercard credit cards and excluding UPI, according to reports. Users will be able to make contactless payments at NFC-enabled terminals by adding card details to Apple Wallet. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) approval and a sponsor-bank partnership are required before UPI can be activated. Apple is negotiating transaction fees with banks, seeking 15-20 basis points per transaction while banks have countered with about 10 basis points. Advanced discussions have been held with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, Medianama reports. Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau has said Apple Pay's entry is likely before end-2026 and could boost credit card usage. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com - medianama.com Tags: Apple Pay, contactless payments, HDFC Bank, NFC, NPCI, UPI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/apple-pay-launch-in-india-likely-by-october-upi-not-at-start/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/apple-pay-launch-in-india-likely-by-october-upi-not-at-start/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.