Published: November 09, 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Apple Pay India is set to expand beyond Axis Bank, with HSBC India the most likely second bank partner.
- HSBC India holds just 1.02 million credit cards (RBI, September 2026), against HDFC Bank’s 27.37 million.
- A launch could come by FY27 end. HDFC, SBI and ICICI are still weighing Apple’s fee.
Mumbai-based HSBC India is likely to be Apple Pay‘s second bank partner, after Axis Bank, with a launch possible by FY27 end.
A Business Standard report of November 8 said HSBC is the furthest along of several banks now in talks with Apple over Apple Pay.
Apple and HSBC India did not comment.
The scale is striking. HSBC India held 1.02 million credit cards in September 2026, RBI data shows. HDFC Bank, the market leader, had 27.37 million.
Apple Pay launched in India on September 30, 2026, with Axis Bank. It works only with eligible Visa and Mastercard credit cards, not RuPay or debit cards.
Apple Pay India: Why HSBC Comes Before the Giants
Apple takes a cut of each Apple Pay transaction, reported at 15 to 20 basis points. That slice comes out of the bank’s interchange income. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
For a large issuer, that fee across millions of cards adds up. HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and ICICI Bank have not joined Apple Pay. Each is still checking whether the numbers work.
Smaller and foreign-bank issuers have fewer cards but wealthier customers. HSBC India fits that profile. Its app listing was updated in October to hint at Apple Wallet support.
What the RBI Card Data Shows
India had more than 123 million credit cards in force in September 2026. Four issuers hold most of them.
HDFC Bank led with 27.37 million cards. SBI Cards had 23.16 million. ICICI Bank had 19.86 million, and Axis Bank 16.55 million.
HSBC India’s 1.02 million base is a fraction of that. So Apple Pay’s reach in India stays narrow until a top issuer joins.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has said it will. Ashok Vaswani, who runs the bank, put it plainly on its Q2 FY27 earnings call:
“As far as the Apple Pay ecosystem is concerned, we will eventually get there.”
Ashok Vaswani, managing director and chief executive, Kotak Mahindra Bank. From Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Q2 FY27 earnings call, October 2026.
What this means for you: If you hold an Axis Bank credit card and use an iPhone, you can already tap to pay; HSBC and Kotak customers are next in line. Watch for your bank’s app update before FY27 ends; big issuers like HDFC and SBI may stay out while fee talks drag on.
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