How Businesses Can Accept Apple Pay in India

In your shop: card terminals

To a card terminal, Apple Pay looks like a contactless Visa or Mastercard payment. If your terminal already accepts contactless cards, shown by the contactless symbol, it can accept Apple Pay without new hardware. Apple named terminal providers such as Pine Labs, Mswipe, Worldline and Paytm among its launch partners.

• Ask your acquirer or terminal provider to confirm contactless acceptance is switched on.
• Show the contactless symbol where customers can see it.
• Tell staff the customer holds the top of the iPhone, or the Apple Watch display, near the reader. Under RBI rules, contactless card payments up to ₹5,000don’t need a PIN.

On your website

For online checkout you don’t integrate with Apple directly. Your payment gateway does that, and Apple lets approved providers register their merchants’ websites for Apple Pay. Your part is usually three things.

1. Serve the site over HTTPS

Apple Pay only runs on secure pages. Razorpay’s documentation, for example, asks for TLS 1.2 or later.

2. Host the domain verification file

Your provider gives you a file to host at a fixed path on every domain where Apple Pay should appear. It must load over HTTPS with a 200 response and no redirects.

curl -sI https://www.example.in/.well-known/apple-developer-merchantid-domain-association
# Expect: HTTP/2 200, with no redirect to another URL

3. Follow Apple’s button and checkout rules

• Use Apple's official Apple Pay button, not a home-made one.
• Show the payment sheet straight after the customer taps the button, with no screens or pop-ups in between.
• Ask only for the details you need to fulfil the order.

If your checkout runs on Razorpay, our Razorpay gateway setup service covers checkout configuration and testing every payment method before go-live.

In your iOS app

Apple’s App Review Guidelines set the rule. Section 3.1.3(e) says apps selling physical goods or services used outside the app must use a payment method other than in-app purchase, such as Apple Pay. Digital content sold inside the app still has to use in-app purchase.

• Membership and merchant ID: you need an Apple Developer Program membership and a merchant ID, which your payment provider helps you set up.
• Disclosure: guideline 4.9 requires all material purchase information to be shown before the sale.
• Subscriptions: for recurring Apple Pay payments, disclose the renewal term, what each period includes, the actual charge and how to cancel.
• Branding: use Apple Pay marks and interface elements as Apple’s guidelines describe.

Your gateway’s iOS SDK may present the Apple Pay sheet for you, so check its documentation first. See our web and app development services if you need help building it into your app.

What it costs merchants

Apple’s fee is charged to the card-issuing bank, reportedly 0.15 to 0.20% per transaction according to TechCrunch and MediaNama. Apple hasn’t published it. For you, an Apple Pay payment is processed as a card payment. Confirm with your provider what rate applies on your plan, since card pricing varies by gateway and card type.

Is it worth enabling now?

Today only Axis Bank credit card holders can pay with Apple Pay, so the immediate volume is small. The case for enabling it early is that it costs little once your gateway supports it, and iPhone users are a valuable audience. TechCrunch reports that Apple held 28% of India’s smartphone market by value in 2025.

The value grows as more banks join. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI Card are the ones to watch. The Apple Pay India bank list tracks where each stands.

Merchant checklist

1. Confirm your terminals accept contactless cards and display the contactless symbol.
2. Ask your payment gateway whether Apple Pay with Indian cards is enabled on your account.
3. Host the domain verification file on every checkout domain, over HTTPS, with no redirects.
4. Use Apple's official button and show the payment sheet immediately after it is tapped.
5. For iOS apps: set up a merchant ID, and use Apple Pay only for physical goods and services.
6. Test a live purchase with an Axis Bank card. Razorpay, for one, notes that Apple Pay doesn't work in test mode.

For the consumer side of the launch, including devices and supported merchants, see the complete Apple Pay India guide.