Apple Pay May Be Coming to India. But There’s a Catch

Apple Pay may finally be coming to India, with reports pointing to a possible launch as early as October. Visa and Mastercard credit cards could reportedly be added to Apple Wallet for NFC tap-to-pay.But there’s a bigger question: what about UPI?UPI does not currently offer conventional NFC tap-to-pay on PoS terminals. UPI Lite X uses NFC-enabled QR codes, soundboxes and stickers, while NPCI is now working toward actual NFC-based UPI tap payments on PoS terminals.And there’s another roadblock: Apple’s NFC and Secure Element APIs are currently open to third-party developers in select markets, but India is not on that list. That means apps such as PhonePe and Google Pay cannot simply enable iPhone tap-to-pay even if NPCI’s infrastructure is ready.So Apple Pay may be coming to India, but NFC UPI could ultimately be the bigger story.Apple has not officially confirmed the reported launch timeline, so treat October as a reported target, not a confirmed date.

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