By Ashwin Manikandan and Gopika Gopakumar
MUMBAI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Apple is poised to launch Apple Pay in India next month with Axis Bank's credit cards, three sources familiar with the matter said, as it works to expand support among the country's lenders.
The launch, starting with a single major banking partner, would help the US company offer its payment service in the world's most populous country, one of the few major economies where it is not available.
Mumbai-based Axis Bank is the fourth-largest
credit card issuer in India.
Apple Pay has also been in discussions with Axis Bank's larger private sector rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank but they are yet to agree commercial terms, two of the sources said.
All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks are private. Apple and HDFC did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. ICICI and Axis said no comment when contacted by Reuters.
Apple Pay allows iPhone users to make tap-and-pay purchases using tokenised card details stored in their devices, without opening a separate payments app.
Apple plans to add lenders over time through direct, bank-by-bank deals, mirroring phased rollouts in other markets, said one of the three sources.
Apple's share of India's smartphone market has doubled to 8% since 2022, according to Counterpoint Research, establishing it as one of its largest markets.
Apple Pay will join a crowded digital payments market.
Payments via the home-grown Unified Payments Interface, which allows transfers via QR codes, phone numbers and tap and pay, dominate the market, making up 84% of India's digital payments volume.
Last year, the Reserve Bank of India allowed biometric authentication for card payments, enabling Apple's payment service to work with Indian bank cards using Face ID and Touch ID.
Axis Bank, with 16.26 million active credit cards in July, trails HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and ICICI Bank in terms of issuance, according to RBI data.
(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan and Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
