Apple will reportedly challenge Samsung Pay in India soon

Samsung Pay debuted in India nearly a decade ago and has positioned itself as one of the most popular smartphone-based tap-to-pay solutions in the country. However, it may soon face a challenge from Apple, as the iPhone maker is reportedly in talks with major Indian banks and card providers to bring Apple Pay to the market.

A report from Bloomberg claims that Apple is in discussions with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank to launch Apple Pay in India. The company is also said to be in talks with card networks Mastercard and Visa. In addition to tap-to-pay functionality, Apple could support India’s most widely used mobile payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which allows users to transfer money or pay bills directly from their bank accounts.

Apple Pay debuted in the US in 2014 and has since expanded to 88 other countries globally. It could launch in India before the end of this year. The move would come at an opportune time for Apple, as the company shipped a record number of iPhones in India in 2025.

Samsung Pay, which is now a part of Samsung Wallet, already supports tap-to-pay (through credit and debit cards) and UPI. Beyond mobile payments, it also allows users to store boarding passes, digital keys, identification documents, loyalty and membership cards, passwords, travel tickets, and more. As it stands, Samsung Wallet offers broader functionality than the combination of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.

It will be interesting to see which of these two mobile payment platforms gains a stronger foothold in the Indian market.