The FaceID Revolution: Apple Pay Sets Sights on India’s UPI Market for Mid-2026
For a time the Apple Wallet on iPhones in India has been empty. That is going to change. Apple is talking to ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank to start Apple Pay in India.
This is not just about adding a credit card to your phone. Apple Pay in India is going to work with the Unified Payments Interface, which’s a big deal in India.
The Biometric Breakthrough
Apple Pay is coming to India at the time. For a time the Reserve Bank of India wanted people to use two ways to verify who they are when they make payments.. Now they say it is okay to just use FaceID or TouchID. People will be able to make payments using Apple Pay and the Unified Payments Interface by looking at their phone. They will not have to switch between apps or wait for a text message.
The “Big Three” and the Strategic Grid
Apple is working with HDFC, ICICI and Axis banks. This will help Apple Pay reach a lot of people in India. At first Apple Pay will work with credit and debit cards.. The big thing is that it will also work with the Unified Payments Interface. Users can link their bank accounts to the Apple Wallet. This means they can use Apple Pay to buy things at stores and also to make payments.
Apple is also talking about a feature that will let small businesses use their iPhones to take payments. Apple is doing this now because it has sold a lot of iPhones in India. In the quarter of 2025 Apple sold 10% of all smartphones in India. This is a deal. Apple is now a choice for people in India. Apple Pay is not the payment app in India. There are apps like PhonePe and Google Pay.. Apple Pay has an advantage. It is built into the iPhone so it is faster and more secure. The goal is to make it so easy to use Apple Pay that people do not need to use any payment app. If you have your ID your car keys and your money, in the Apple Wallet you will not want to use any other app.
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