Apple has engaged in talks with Indian authorities and NPCI to launch its payments service Apple Pay in the South Asian market. Apple is working on a localised version of Apple Pay that works atop of UPI, a popular payments mode in the South Asian market, according to sources cited by techcrunch.com.

NPCI, a special division of India’s central bank Reserve Bank of India, oversees the UPI platform. Potential payment features in the Indian market The company wants iPhone customers in India to be able to scan QR codes and initiate UPI transactions without having to use any PSP app. The iPhone-maker, which debut its first set of retail stores in India in April 2023, has over the years held several conversations with the local authorities about launching Apple Pay.

During its recent conversations with some Indian authorities, Apple suggested that Apple Pay could have the ability to use Face ID for UPI authentication on iPhones, according to one person familiar with the matter. India represents a relatively small market for Apple, and the introduction of Apple Pay is improbable to cause significant disruptions to the existing players in the ecosystem. This ecosystem currently handles over 8 billion transactions per month on the UPI platform.

Additionally, Android dominates the Indian smartphone market, with over 90% of all smartphones running on the Android operating system. More news from Apple In March 2023, Apple has announced the launch of Apple Pay Later, looking to enable US-based users to split purchases into four payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees applied. Consumers can apply for Apple Pay Later loans ranging from USD 50 to USD 1,000, which can then be used for both online and in-app purchases carried out on iPhone and iPad with merchants that accept Apple Pay.

When getting started with Apple Pay Later, users can apply for a loan within the Wallet without having their credit impacted, following which they are set to be prompted to enter the amount they wish to borrow and agree to the Apple Pay Later terms. During the application process, a soft credit pull will take place to ensure that the user has a good financial position prior to taking on the loan. Once the user is approved, the Pay Later option will be visible when selecting Apple Pay at checkout, and they will have the option to leverage the service to carry out a purchase.

Following the finalised set-up of Apple Pay Later, users are also enabled to apply for a loan directly within the checkout flow whenever making a purchase. .