Apple Pay Coming to India in the Near Future?
For quite some time, Apple has been eagerly anticipating the release of its payment service, Apple Pay, in India.
According to GSMArena, Apple plans to hold talks with local regulatory bodies, specifically the NPCI, a special division of the Reserve Bank of India.
Apple Pay would enter a hyper competitive segment with other players like PhonePe, Google Pay, WhatsApp Pay and Paytm.
According to reports, Tim Cook met with Indian authorities to negotiate a localized version of Apple Pay — allowing customers to scan QR codes and initiate UPI transactions without using third-party apps. Apple also wants users to verify UPI transactions using the Face ID feature.
However, Apple has not yet started negotiations with local partners (banks).
In March, Apple introduced “Apple Pay Later,” a buy-now-pay-later service, but only for select customers in the United States. First announced at WWDC last year, Apple Pay Later allows users to split the price of an Apple Pay Purchase into four equal payments over six weeks, with no interest or late fees. (LETTER I)
