Apple aims to tap into a trillion-dollar payments market.
As anticipated, Apple is currently negotiating with three Indian banks to launch Apple Pay services in the country later this year, according to a Bloomberg report. This strategic move could significantly expand the company’s presence in India, potentially surpassing the reach its payment services have achieved globally.
This initiative holds considerable importance for several reasons. For context, Apple Pay stands as the dominant mobile payment platform globally, excluding China (which is led by Alipay and WeChat Pay). Consequently, there’s a strong likelihood it will capture a substantial share of India’s digital payments market upon its introduction.
What makes India so appealing? In essence: its immense growth potential.
Seizing a Trillion-Dollar Opportunity
Currently, digital wallets constitute over a third of worldwide consumer expenditures and are projected to reach an approximate value of $28 trillion by 2030. Even at present, Apple processes 9.5 trillion transactions for over 800 million users, projected to generate an estimated $2.7 billion in 2024, as reported by Capital One Shopping Research. This research also astonishingly states that 5% of all global transactions in 2020 utilized Apple Pay.
India’s economy is expanding, and its payments market is following suit. Digital transactions within India are forecast to hit approximately $10 trillion this year, with the overall fintech market anticipated to reach $421 billion by 2028. India’s digital payments market, valued at around $6.83 billion in 2025, is predicted to surpass $33 billion by 2034.
Given these significant figures, Apple is keen to enter this market. Upon doing so, the company can leverage the strong customer loyalty its hardware products consistently foster, further augmenting its revenue. The timing is ideal for such a venture, especially considering Apple’s unprecedented sales of iPhones and other devices in the region. The iPhone now commands 10% of India’s smartphone market and dominates the premium segment, as per IDC.
Synergies of the Apple Ecosystem
The symbiotic relationship among Apple’s various services is worth highlighting. With iPhone sales surging in India, the rollout of Apple Pay is expected to encourage Indian consumers to further invest in Apple devices to utilize the service domestically. This initiative should also accelerate adoption across the Apple Pay ecosystem, benefiting all merchant payment processing companies that adhere to its standards.
Indian small businesses will undoubtedly see the potential in accepting mobile (and card) payments, possibly with minimal investment such as a pre-owned iPhone. This could inject further momentum into Apple’s already expanding hardware sales within India.
Remaining Challenges
A key hurdle in this strategy is Apple Pay’s current lack of support for Indian debit or credit cards within its Wallet feature. This limitation persists despite iPhones being equipped with NFC technology, primarily due to existing regulatory barriers. Furthermore, India’s payment landscape is largely dominated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), managed by the National Payments Corporation of India.
It is widely believed that Apple will need to establish integration with UPI to successfully launch Apple Pay in India. This is likely the reason for its discussions with major Indian banks—ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank—prior to rolling out its payment service around mid-year, as reported by Bloomberg. Additionally, the company is reportedly engaged in discussions with Visa and Mastercard concerning this strategic initiative.
While local regulations pose some challenges, Apple has gained an advantage from India’s recent decision, implemented late last year, to permit biometric identification for payments. To comply with the data localization requirements set by India’s central bank for payment providers, Apple may also need to construct local data centers or collaborate with domestic banks to process data within the country.
Apple’s ambition to launch Apple Pay in India is entirely understandable. The company’s integrated ecosystem of hardware, software, and services holds immense appeal for consumers globally, making the addition of financial services a logical progression – a strategy it successfully adopted years ago. This move further underscores Apple’s sustained expansion into Indian markets, evidenced by the recent opening of its sixth retail store and its ongoing efforts to diversify manufacturing operations, thereby reducing its dependency on China.
The expansion into India not only broadens and diversifies Apple’s market reach but also maximizes its revenue potential, marking yet another significant advantage for Cupertino’s financial services.
For more updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions communities on MeWe. You can also find me on Mastodon.
