Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
62,072
28,004


Apple is in talks with banks to launch Apple Card in India, claims a report by local finance website Moneycontrol.

Apple-Card-Balance.jpeg

According to the report, citing sources familiar with the matter, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his trip to India in April to discuss the possibility of bringing the credit card to the country alongside Apple Pay.

In India, only banks are allowed to launch credit cards. According to the outlet's sources, Apple is therefore exploring the possibility of launching its Apple Card there as a co-branded credit card with HDFC Bank.

The Cupertino-based tech giant is also said to have held discussions with central bank and regulatory body the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the "modalities" of the card. The regulator has reportedly asked Apple to follow the regular procedure for co-branded credit cards, without offering any special considerations for the company.

Apple Card was released in the United States in August 2019, and remains exclusive to the country. The outlet speculates that what might have prompted Apple to consider launching the Apple Card in India before Japan or European countries is the fact that Apple does not currently accept card payments in India. Instead, the national Unified Payments Interface (UPI) powers most App Store purchases in the country, due to regulations that forbid third-party websites from storing credit card details on their platforms.

In the U.S., Apple has partnered with Goldman Sachs for the card, which in its physical form is a plain titanium card with the customer's name but no number printed on the front, with Mastercard and Goldman Sachs mentioned on the reverse. These are reportedly "not liberties that Apple can take in India" as per the current co-branded credit card regulations in India.

The discussions are in the early stages and a decision has not been arrived at, the outlet's sources added.

During his trip to India, Cook attended the opening of the country's first Apple retail stores. Apple previously only offered products through its regional website and via resellers, and yet Apple's sales in India hit a new high of almost $6 billion in the year through March. Revenue in India grew by nearly 50%, from $4.1 billion a year earlier, according to one report.

Apple has also been working to build out a manufacturing supply chain in India, which is home to the world's second biggest smartphone market. In an indication of the country's perceived importance as a production hub, Apple shifted iPhone 14 assembly from China to India in the weeks following its release.

Article Link: Apple Reportedly in Discussions With Banks to Launch Apple Card in India
 
  • Wow
Reactions: DeepIn2U

jlwarlow

macrumors regular
Oct 10, 2008
177
102
Leicestershire, UK
What about the U.K
Probably never will; too many alternatives like Monzo, Starling, Curve and Revolut which already work with Apple Pay and provide all the analysis, flex etc to get people to move to Apple Card to make it profitable here. Also I bet the regulations are a pain for Apple to deal with too. Pity though as most of my friends are iPhone users and Apple Cash would make it so much easier to split bills etc
 

75Batt

macrumors regular
Oct 28, 2022
203
428
Glasgow
Probably never will; too many alternatives like Monzo, Starling, Curve and Revolut which already work with Apple Pay and provide all the analysis, flex etc to get people to move to Apple Card to make it profitable here. Also I bet the regulations are a pain for Apple to deal with too. Pity though as most of my friends are iPhone users and Apple Cash would make it so much easier to split bills etc
Agreee. Whilst it woukd be good, I don’t see the card offering anything most of the challenger banks in the UK are already offering.
 

msackey

macrumors 68020
Oct 8, 2020
2,276
2,613
Meanwhile, some of us in the US are greedily wondering when Apple/Goldman Sachs would raise their APY for the savings account beyond 4.15%. ;-) Discover is already matching Apple's rate now. We need better ;-)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stratus Fear

sw1tcher

macrumors 601
Jan 6, 2004
4,953
15,798
According to the report, citing sources familiar with the matter, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his trip to India in April to discuss the possibility of bringing the credit card to the country alongside Apple Pay.

Guess that State dinner at the White House paid off. I know Modi met with tech giants.

Cook held discussions with HDFC Bank in April about bringing Apple Card to India.

The White House State Dinner with Modi was yesterday.
 

sw1tcher

macrumors 601
Jan 6, 2004
4,953
15,798
Meanwhile, some of us in the US are greedily wondering when Apple/Goldman Sachs would raise their APY for the savings account beyond 4.15%. ;-) Discover is already matching Apple's rate now. We need better ;-)
Matching?

Discover is at 4.20% APY.

Apple/Goldman is at 4.15% APY

Even Capital One is at 4.15% APY
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.