Apple Inc is planning to launch its credit card in India, also known as Apple Card. Planning to tie up with HDFC bank to bring its credit card.

Apple Inc is planning to launch its credit card in India, also known as Apple Card. The iPhone maker is planning to tie up with HDFC bank to bring its credit card to its Indian customers, reported Moneycontrol citing sources.

During the launch of Apple stores in India, The company's CEO, Tim Cook, met with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his trip to India in April.

The technology giant is also holding discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to possibly launch Apple Pay in the country, a third source told Moneycontrol. It is not clear whether these discussions are regarding its credit card being powered by NPCI's Rupay platform or whether this is for Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The advantage of launching a Rupay Credit Card is that it can be linked to UPI as well. In India, only banks are allowed to launch credit cards. UPI allows customers to make seamless and fast payments by scanning QR codes through mobile phones.

This comes at a time when a significant number of payments are being increasingly made through mobile phones. Technology giants such as Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung are actively pursuing expansion into the payments sector and have ambitious plans in the financial services space. These companies have developed payment apps and are looking to make significant strides in this area.

The Cupertino-based tech giant had also held discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the modalities of the card. According to one of the sources mentioned above, the regulator has asked Apple to follow the regular procedure for co-branded credit cards, without offering any special consideration for the company.

Both Apple and HDFC Bank did not offer any statements to the email queries sent to them. The RBI also did not respond to an email inquiry about whether the regulator had held discussions with Apple.

Why India?

India has been a focus country for Apple for the last couple of years, with iPhone sales growing at a rapid pace, albeit from a low base. Apple's revenue in India touched around Rs 50,000 crore or $6 billion in FY23, representing a 50% growth over Rs 33,500 crore (around $4 billion) in FY22. Apple's global services revenue stands at around $80 billion. Converting a significant portion of these transactions through the Apple Card would have a substantial impact.

During Cook's visit to India in April, the company launched exclusive retail stores in Delhi and Mumbai. Additionally, the company has been shifting a significant portion of its iPhone production to India and the country could see almost 25% of Apple’s total mobile phone production in the next three to four years.

Apple currently holds approximately 4% of the overall smartphone market in India, which accounts for roughly two crore users.  If 20-30% of Indian smartphone users switch to iPhone over the next decade, as is the case in other middle-income countries, India could become Apple's third-largest market, after the US and China.

However, what might have prompted Apple to consider launching the Apple Card in India before Japan or other European countries is the fact that Apple does not currently accept card payments in India. In India, UPI powers most App Store purchases, apart from iCloud services such as storage and music.


Countries where Apple Card is available :  As of now,  Apple operates its premium credit card in the USA. The card was launched in joint collaboration with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. It is made of titanium metal and is positioned as a high-end offering.

Features of Apple Card :

* Customers using the Apple Card for making regular purchases with the physical card can earn upto 1% of cashback, which increases to 2% if payment is done with Apple Pay. For those who are using the card for making payment at Apple stores and selected partners, cashback percentage reaches to 3%.

* There is no late fees charged by Apple to its Apple card holders. The company does not charge on foreign transaction, returned payment, or annual credit card fees. However, users have to pay interest fees generated for carrying balance.

* Savings : Apple card owners can open 4.15% savings account (No minimum balance limit) to deposit their daily cash.

* Every customer will get a unique card number for each device. The number is stored ina secure element which is used by Apple Pay to handle transactions and on-device cryptographic functions.

- Moneycontrol