Apple Card will launch in India next, report claims

Apple Card on iPhone and Apple Watch
(Image credit: Apple)

Apple Card is currently only available in the United States, but that might be about to change.

Currently only offered to people via Goldman Sachs in Apple's home country, it's always only been a matter of time until Apple Card goes international. But new reports suggest that India will be the first country to get Apple's credit card with one bank in particular being lined up. 

According to those reports Apple CEO Tim Cook has already held discussions with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his April visit to India.

Talks are underway

The news, reported by TechCrunch, The Federal, and Moneycontrol, means that Apple's expansion of the Apple Card financial product could be just another part of the company's new focus on India. A recent spate of Apple Store openings, coupled with suppliers moving to the country, makes India a vital part of the world for Apple right now.

But it won't have any special treatment in the launch of Apple Card, it seems. "The iPhone maker also held discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the modalities of the card," The Federal reports. "According to sources, the regulator has asked Apple to follow the regular procedure for co-branded credit cards, without offering any special consideration for the company."

Apple Card allows users to see their spending, pay bills, and more using their iPhone with purchases also earning cashback, dubbed Daily Cash. Some stores offer more than others, with Apple often running special promotions with retailers.

As for why Apple would bring Apple Card to India before other countries, it's been suggested that Apple's lack of credit card support in the country could play a part.

"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," the Federal notes. "In India, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) powers most App Store purchases, apart from iCloud services such as storage and music."

Those in the United States who already have an Apple Card will have a reason to dust it off soon of course. Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner and we have a growing collection of Apple Prime Day deals just waiting to put that Apple Card to good use.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

Latest in Apple
iMore Logo
One more thing… Goodbye from iMore
Apple Logo behind a waterfall
Apple loses $14bn Irish tax case against the EU
Apple Glowtime iPhone 16 event
How to re-watch Apple's iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10, and AirPods 4 event
Glowtime 2024
Every Apple product discontinued after the iPhone 16 event
Apple Glowtime iPhone 16 event
Listen to all of the music from Apple's 'It's Glowtime' September event
Apple logo with US dollar bills
Apple could get a major fine the day after the iPhone 16 reveal event
Latest in News
iMore Logo
One more thing… Goodbye from iMore
Jony Ive
Jony Ive’s OpenAI hardware device could be his next world-changing design
NEBULA Cosmos 4K SE with Apple TV
This new 4K projector is tempting me to replace my LG C2 TV, just so I can watch Slow Horses on a 200-inch display
VisionOS 2 app reorganization
visionOS 2 is the first major software update for Apple Vision Pro, and now it's available
macOS Sequoia
macOS Sequoia (version 15) is now available for your Mac with some big upgrades
watchOS 11
watchOS 11 is now rolling out to all Apple Watch users with the Series 6 or newer