Apple has restored credit and debit card payment options for Indian users after a five-year gap
The feature is currently being tested with select users, with a wider rollout planned in the coming months
Visa and Mastercard networks are active, with RuPay and Amex integration expected to follow soon
Apple Resumes Card Payments in India After Five Years
A limited group of customers is currently trialling the payment option. The company plans to expand the service to all users in the coming months
Summary
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Apple has restored credit and debit card payment options for App Store and iCloud transactions in India after a five-year gap, Moneycontrol reported.
A limited group of customers is currently trialling the payment option. The company plans to expand the service to all users in the coming months.
Visa and Mastercard users can already access the service. Apple plans to add RuPay and Amex cards in the coming months, according to the report.
Compliance with RBI Mandate
Regulations forced a shift. Apple ceased processing card transactions in India in 2021 following the Reserve Bank of India's strict card tokenisation directive. Customers relied solely on UPI and net banking for App Store and iCloud purchases in the country during this period.
The iPhone maker restored the payment option after complying with the central bank's tokenisation rules.
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The RBI mandates that only card networks can hold tokenised information. This payment data must reside on local servers within India.
Data Localisation Rules
Infrastructure dictates data strategy. Globally, Apple backs up tokenised payment data on local servers in the US, Denmark (for the European Union), and China.
Apple will not mirror tokenised payment data for India. This decision ensures compliance with the RBI mandate.
The company lacks a local data centre in India. It is unlikely to build one in the near future, prompting the decision not to mirror the data.
Apple Pay India Outlook
Apple Pay remains delayed. The company continues negotiations with lenders to introduce Apple Pay in India. It collaborates with card networks to satisfy the central bank's tokenisation and local data storage rules.
In February, details of Apple's plans to introduce its payments service in India emerged. Apple Pay's India launch is expected to support the country's state-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI), along with card-based payments.
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Apple Pay uses Face ID or Touch ID to authorise payments made in-store via tap-to-pay, as well as on websites and mobile apps.