Opening thoughts. It took a while to get here, but Apple Pay is now in India. The launch partners are Axis Bank as well as card networks Mastercard and Visa. Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet tells HT that the right pieces must be in place for Apple Pay to launch in any market globally, including the regulatory framework, payments infrastructure and partners who can deliver the experience for customers.
“A particularly important development was the RBI’s move to support biometric authentication for card payments, which enables customers to authenticate Apple Pay transactions using Face ID or Touch ID. At the same time, we now have a tremendous partner in Axis Bank, alongside Visa and Mastercard, to bring Apple Pay to customers in India. So it’s really about the pieces coming together,” Bailey says.
Credit to Axis Bank in particular, for having worked out the contours of this agreement with Apple, which none of its competitors could.
“We are at a significant inflection point in payments, where technology, intelligent security and changing customer expectations are reshaping how people transact,” says Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank, adding, “ As payments become increasingly embedded in customers’ everyday digital lives, our focus is on bringing together innovation and trust, while making every interaction more intuitive and relevant. More importantly, this reflects our vision of a more connected and sophisticated payments ecosystem, where technology enables convenience and confidence in every transaction.”
Getting things going: Axis Bank becomes the first partner for Apple Pay in India. All cards issued on Mastercard and Visa networks are compatible with Apple Pay. In my experience, Wallet attempted to detect eligible Axis Bank cards from the auto-fill cards saved in Wallet to add to Apple Pay. I was surprised though, I did suggest the Axis Atlas card, but not the Axis Horizon card, and I added the latter manually. Tapping a card on the back of the iPhone, is a rather interesting visual cue anyway.
With Apple Pay available across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, you can expect full coverage for digital payments and in-store payments on supported platforms and terminals. For instance, fintech platform PayU added Apple Pay to its merchant network as soon as the service went Live.
“Apple Pay’s launch with Visa and Axis Bank marks a defining moment in India for digital payments. For consumers this brings together Visa’s trusted global network and tokenisation, Apple’s intuitive experience, and Axis Bank’s scale – delivering a simple, secure and seamless way to pay,” says Suresh Sethi, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa.
The broad ecosystem: Within hours of the announcement, apps, platforms and merchant networks also began to show Apple Pay support. Zomato has added Apple Pay in the list of payment methods in the app for orders, something I happened to note by chance. In the coming days, you will notice more of this across the apps you regularly use. These are just some examples, and no platform would want to feel left out.
Security as the foundation: The Secure Element chip and transaction authentication using Face ID, Touch ID or passcode are the basis on which transactional and information security underline Apple Pay.
When customers use a credit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are never saved on the device or on Apple’s servers. Instead, a unique device account number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the iPhone’s Secure Element chip. Every time a Mastercard or Visa card is added to Apple Pay, the service connects with the card issuing networks to create a unique device-based token, using global data organisation standards.
“The introduction of Apple Pay for Axis Bank-issued Mastercard credit cardholders ushers in a new era of secure contactless commerce, giving Indian consumers greater confidence and peace of mind with every transaction. Through Mastercard’s tokenisation technology, every Apple Pay transaction is protected by a unique, cryptographically secured token, ensuring card details are never shared with merchants, safeguarding consumers against fraud,” says Gautam Aggarwal, President, India & South Asia, Mastercard.
Apple has no visibility into what a customer has purchased or paid for, meaning any spend tracking or categorisation information will be processed on-device. Apple does not retain transaction information that can be tied back to the user, and all transactions stay between the user, the merchant, and their bank or card issuer.
EDITOR’S MARGIN
VI’s INTERNATIONAL ROAMING PITCH
A few days ago, there was some sense of excitement among those who watch India’s telecom space closely. Vi said they’ll ‘disrupt travel with free international roaming’. A corollary to that, “offering savings of up to Rs. 9000 per year”, across their prepaid and postpaid plans—basically, you can get one or more free international roaming packs through the year. I did some digging around the eligible prepaid and postpaid plans (so that you don’t have to) to see what sort of value you can derive from this. Could potentially be good news for international travellers, but with typical caveats.
Prepaid plans first. From the landscape I’m able to decipher, the international roaming bundle seems to be available on the annual recharge plans, that is, 365-day validity. The most inexpensive among them is priced at ₹3,599 with 2GB per day along with weekend data rollover and unlimited data for half a day—the international roaming benefit is 1GB for 5 Days along with 50 mins outgoing and incoming calls. It is a similar bundle with the ₹3,699 and also the more expensive ₹3,999 recharge pack (base specifics across the three plans are similar, but some additional streaming subscriptions are the reason for differential pricing).
The ₹4,099 and the ₹4,999 annual recharge packs offer the benefit of 5GB for 5 Days along with 50 mins outgoing and incoming calls. For all prepaid plans, the 5-day validity international roaming pack can be activated once in 365 days.
Postpaid users certainly get a bit more bang for their buck, and understandably, Vi wants more postpaid users in its fold (any telecom company would, that billing loyalty is good business sense). The Vi Max 501 UL bundles any one free international roaming pack in a year, while the Vi Max 601 UL gets two international roaming packs in this duration—though Vi doesn’t clearly mention whether it is the 5 days pack with 1GB data or the 5 days pack with 5GB data. The higher up the chain you go, the better the benefits, of course. Vi’s flagship RedX 1251 plan includes three international roaming packs in a year, specifically worth ₹2,999 for 7 days.
Postpaid family plans are even more interesting, because each member who is part of the postpaid plan, gets their individual free international roaming pack benefit. The Vi Max Family 801 UL, Vi Max Family 971 UL plans that can have up to two postpaid SIMs (primary plus one more member), the Vi Max Family 1401 UL with total 5 SIMs (primary plus four free members), each gets every individual member in these bill plans one international roaming plan every year.
Incidentally, the RedX Family 1601 plan which can have a primary member with two additional members, only offers the International roaming pack worth ₹2,999 for 7 days, at a 25% discount for others, while only the primary member gets a free plan.
Three takeaways from this:
- This is Vi’s big pitch to make postpaid plans look even more interesting to particularly those who travel outside the country, at least once a year. Postpaid users will help Vi stabilise their ARPU, or average revenue per user metrics.
- The ARPU conversation is also a part of the prepaid recharge structure for free international roaming packs, with the 365-day validity options also an attempt to stabilise user loyalty.
- I am not entirely sure if Airtel or Reliance Jio will feel the need to respond to Vi’s international roaming pitch. At least not immediately. That is, unless they begin to notice a substantial port-out request scenario in the coming months. Both telecom companies, to varying degrees, pitch a more premium proposition than Vi.
Interestingly, Airtel already has a ₹4,999 hybrid plan that includes 2.5GB data per day and unlimited calls while in India, and a 7GB high-speed data bundle as well as 100 minutes of incoming and outgoing calls while on international roaming as well as 200 outgoing SMS free, in a 365-days validity.
Also, it will take a while for customers to regain confidence in Vi’s network recovering the sort of quality and consistency that marked its heydays—and its been a sustained period of downfall that leaves it a shadow of its former self. I’ve often said that India’s telecom space needs a strong Vi, for the sake of competition and consumers. This brave attempt, is certainly something that elicits a bit more confidence in Vi’s overall health and longevity.
THE LATEST, ON NEURAL DISPATCH
TECH SPOTLIGHT
XIAOMI’S NEW POWER BANK ARSENAL
This is a bit unexpected, that Xiaomi will unleash a completely new portfolio of power banks in India. Agreed, this brand sold the most power banks in India in 2025, according to Counterpoint Research—and they have clearly identified this momentum as a good point to widen the range and capabilities.
Xiaomi UItraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000: Interesting timing for the Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 in that Radiant Orange colour (there are the Glacier Silver and Graphite Black options too), which perhaps came a bit too late to the party, as Apple replaced the hero Cosmic Orange colour with a sophisticated and restrained Burgundy as the iPhone hero colour. That may be of little relevance to many, because an iPhone is just a part of the overall proposition.
The Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 that’s priced at ₹5,599 is compatible with Xiaomi’s flagships including the Xiaomi 17 series and goes as far back as the Xiaomi 12 series, with iPhones as far back as the iPhone 12, and with Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series as well as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the Google Pixel 10 series including the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, as well as the Pixel 9 series. For a 5000mAh battery capacity bank, it is basically no thicker than a slim credit card wallet. And it weighs just 98 grams.
Wireless charging peaks at 15-watt, and while the iPhone will notify you that a slow charger is connected, it is sufficient to juice up the battery as you’re using it. There’s the USB-C wired option too, at 22.5 watts. The aluminium alloy body with a very subtle metallic texture gives the Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 an extremely premium finish, by far. This battery has 16% silicon content, with a fairly elaborate graphite sheet for heat dispersion. That said, the usable rated output capacity of this cell capacity of 5000mAh is actually close to 3000mAh at 5V/2A. This will be able to top up an iPhone 17 Pro Max or an iPhone 18 Pro Max just fine, but just don’t expect this to juice it all the way up from 10% charge.
Xiaomi Power Bank 20000 165W: This is an absolute beast of a power bank, if we can really call it that—because I’d rather call it a charging station. Here are some key specs that define this ₹5,499 priced must-have accessory—dual port charging that can combine to 165-watt output, the built-in cable can deliver up to 120-watt fast charging, supports standards including PD 3.0 with PPS and QC 3.5, and can charge itself at up to 90-watt. And despite all its power, this falls well within the power bank carry-on guidelines that state a maximum of 100Wh (this is rated at 70.56Wh).
This is Xiaomi’s fastest power bank yet, and the utility isn’t just limited to smartphones and occasionally a tablet. This will have equal relevance with laptops, and even portable gaming consoles which are becoming popular among those who can afford them. Think of it this way, the Xiaomi Power Bank 20000 165W can charge a laptop at up to 120-watts and a smartphone at up to 45-watts, simultaneously. There are four cells of 5000mAh lithium-ion batteries, with a combined rated capacity around 11000mAh, and an elaborate power and temperature management system keeping an eye on battery conditions such as the temperature. This will be able to charge a 6,000mAh battery capacity Xiaomi 17 Ultra two and a half times over. A bit more for the Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max. And once over for the latest 13-inch iPad Pro.
Xiaomi Magnetic Power Bank 10000 45W: This is a bit more conventional in terms of the visual side of things, as well as the substance. This 10000mAh rated power bank does 45-watt charging on wired, including the built-in cable, and 25-watt speeds wirelessly. The latter is essentially a Qi2.2 standard bump from 15-watt on the previous Qi wireless charging tech. The key to note here is, either using the integrated USB-C cable, or using the USB-C port, each methods tops at 45-watt, but if you’re using both simultaneously, each is capped at 15-watt. Self-charging speed is 30-watt. This ₹3,999 power bank looks good, with a matte finish that is soft touch too. It remains quite compact to carry around.