TL; DR
- iOS 26.4 beta code includes new “en_IN” (English-India) strings for “APPLE_PAY” and “Apple Pay,” which usually means Apple is actively prepping a launch.
- Reports from late 2025 said Apple held talks with major Indian banks like Axis, HDFC, ICICI, and SBI, though UPI support still wasn’t confirmed.
- Apple Pay won’t go far in India without UPI-style support, since most everyday payments run through UPI QR, not NFC cards.
Apple may finally be getting serious about Apple Pay in India. User @aaronp613 spotted new code strings inside the iOS 26.4 beta that add “en_IN” (English-India) localization entries for Apple Pay, including labels like “APPLE_PAY” and “Apple Pay.”
This kind of addition usually shows up when Apple starts preparing the Wallet app and backend for a market rollout. Apple has followed this same pattern in other regions, where new localizations appeared shortly before Apple Pay officially went live.
This also lines up with earlier reports from late 2025. At the time, Indian business outlets said Apple had started discussions with major banks, including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and SBI. Those talks reportedly focused more on card-based payments, and nobody confirmed UPI integration.
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That’s the key problem. India’s payments ecosystem runs on UPI. NFC card tap-to-pay exists, but most users still pay via UPI QR codes using Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, or other UPI apps. Samsung Pay got traction in India mainly because it added UPI QR support, not because of card NFC alone.
So if Apple actually launches Apple Pay in India in a meaningful way, it almost has to include UPI support in some form. That could mean UPI QR scanning inside Wallet, UPI ID linking, or something closer to full UPI functionality.
iOS 26.4 should land around March 2026, so this could set up an India rollout sometime in 2026 if Apple moves fast. Until then, this remains a strong hint, not a confirmation.
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