Apple Pay joins India’s digital payments race

New Delhi: US technology major Apple has entered the Indian digital payments market with the launch of Apple Pay in collaboration with Axis Bank.

The service is available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with support for Mac coming soon, Apple said on Wednesday.

“India is home to a dynamic and digitally savvy population that continues to embrace a cashless future while expecting the highest standards of security and privacy, and we're so excited to bring Apple Pay to users in India today,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.

Customers with Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards can add their cards to Apple Pay and make payments at stores, in apps and on the web without entering PINs or OTPs at checkout.

Apple said the service will be accepted by millions of merchants across India, including Apple Store locations, Blinkit, Chaayos, Comet, Croma, Interflora, Ixigo, Le15 Patisserie, Reliance brands, Tata 1mg and Zomato.

The company has also worked with payment service providers including Cashfree, JusPay, Mswipe, Paytm, PayU, Pine Labs, Razorpay and Worldline to enable Apple Pay across their merchant networks.

Apple said card numbers are not stored on the device or its servers and are not shared with merchants. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the device's Secure Element. Transaction details are also not retained by Apple. If an iPhone is lost or stolen, users can use the Find My app to locate, lock or suspend payments from the device. Apple Pay is currently available in more than 90 countries and regions and works with more than 11,000 bank and network partners globally.

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The Hans India