Apple reportedly back in talks to launch Apple Pay in India
Apple has reportedly planned to resume discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India that looks after operations of online payments, including UPI (Unified Payments Interface) — to bring its Apple Pay service to India. The iPhone maker is mulling introducing a localised version of Apple Pay in India that uses UPI for online payments — much like Google’s GPay and Samsung Pay.
As reported by TechCrunch, Apple Pay, if launched in India, will allow iPhone users to scan QR codes to make payments through the UPI mechanism — contrary to how Apple Pay works originally in markets such as the US. iPhone users in the US and some other countries can link their cards to Apple Pay to make payments. Apple offers its own credit card called the Apple Card in the US and it comes automatically linked to the Apple Pay account.
A similar payment mechanism is also available on Samsung Pay in India. Eligible customers with an eligible Samsung phone can make contactless payments from their cards through Samsung Pay. However, Samsung also introduced a UPI-based payments service, which is available on both NFC-enabled phones, as well as phones without NFC.
As part of its discussions with government officials, Apple pitched that Apple Pay in India will offer the ability to use Face ID for the UPI authentication process, making it more secure than the current. However, UPI registration would still require a SIM card of the mobile number associated with your bank account.
Apple is still finalising the plan on how it will operate Apple Pay in India, according to the report, citing people privy to the development. The launch may still be “a few quarters away.” But even if Apple Pay officially lands in India, it will have to face extremely stiff competition from incumbents in the country’s payment industry. Walmart-owned PhonePe records the highest UPI transactions in India, followed by Paytm and GPay. Samsung Pay is nowhere close to these players, even though it is available on Android — the dominating smartphone OS in India. With a minor share in India’s smartphone market, iPhone is unlikely to put Apple Pay on the charts.
The push for Apple Pay could be a part of the US-based company’s holistic plan to increase its presence in India. In April earlier this year, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook visited India to launch the company’s maiden retail stores in Mumbai and New Delhi, marking its entry into the country’s offline smartphone retail market. Apple also increased its production lines in India, initiating the manufacturing of iPhone units before the launch.
The post Apple reportedly back in talks to launch Apple Pay in India appeared first on Techlusive.
Apple has reportedly planned to resume discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India that looks after operations of online payments, including UPI (Unified Payments Interface) — to bring its Apple Pay service to India. The iPhone maker is mulling introducing a localised version of Apple Pay in India that uses UPI for online payments — much like Google’s GPay and Samsung Pay.
As reported by TechCrunch, Apple Pay, if launched in India, will allow iPhone users to scan QR codes to make payments through the UPI mechanism — contrary to how Apple Pay works originally in markets such as the US. iPhone users in the US and some other countries can link their cards to Apple Pay to make payments. Apple offers its own credit card called the Apple Card in the US and it comes automatically linked to the Apple Pay account.
A similar payment mechanism is also available on Samsung Pay in India. Eligible customers with an eligible Samsung phone can make contactless payments from their cards through Samsung Pay. However, Samsung also introduced a UPI-based payments service, which is available on both NFC-enabled phones, as well as phones without NFC.
As part of its discussions with government officials, Apple pitched that Apple Pay in India will offer the ability to use Face ID for the UPI authentication process, making it more secure than the current. However, UPI registration would still require a SIM card of the mobile number associated with your bank account.
Apple is still finalising the plan on how it will operate Apple Pay in India, according to the report, citing people privy to the development. The launch may still be “a few quarters away.” But even if Apple Pay officially lands in India, it will have to face extremely stiff competition from incumbents in the country’s payment industry. Walmart-owned PhonePe records the highest UPI transactions in India, followed by Paytm and GPay. Samsung Pay is nowhere close to these players, even though it is available on Android — the dominating smartphone OS in India. With a minor share in India’s smartphone market, iPhone is unlikely to put Apple Pay on the charts.
The push for Apple Pay could be a part of the US-based company’s holistic plan to increase its presence in India. In April earlier this year, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook visited India to launch the company’s maiden retail stores in Mumbai and New Delhi, marking its entry into the country’s offline smartphone retail market. Apple also increased its production lines in India, initiating the manufacturing of iPhone units before the launch.
The post Apple reportedly back in talks to launch Apple Pay in India appeared first on Techlusive.
