Apple is reportedly in talks with Indian banks and regulators to launch its credit card, which could be dubbed Apple Card in India. For those unaware, Apple launched its credit card in the US in association with Goldman Sachs, which is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Apple CEO, Tim Cook met with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his trip to India in April, according to MoneyControl citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Apple to launch a co-branded credit card in India?
- Apple is also reportedly holding talks with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to possibly launch Apple Pay in the country, a third source told Moneycontrol.
- However, it is not clear whether these discussions are regarding the credit card being powered by NPCI’s Rupay platform or for Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
- The edge 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.
The new development from Apple comes at a time when a significant number of payments are being made through mobile phones. Not just Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung are also apparently pursuing expansion into the payments sector and have plans in the financial services space.
The companies have developed payment apps and are planning to make strides in this area. Apple has had discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the modalities of the card, the report said. According to the sources, the regulator has asked Apple to follow the regular procedure for co-branded credit cards, without offering any special consideration for the tech giant.
