Apple is in talks with Indian banks to introduce the Apple Card

Moneycontrol is a local finance website. As per a recent report from Moneycontrol, the Cupertino-based tech firm Apple is taking some steps to introduce Apple Card in India. The report claims that the company’s CEO had a meeting with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan back in April. Both companies discussed the likelihood of introducing credit cards as well as Apple Pay in India.

Only banks are permitted to introduce credit cards in India. Apple is therefore considering the prospect of introducing its Apple Card there as a co-branded credit card with HDFC Bank, according to the outlet’s sources. Apple is also rumored to have discussed the “modalities” of the card with India’s central bank and regulatory agency, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to reports, the regulator has requested that Apple adhere to the standard procedure for co-branded credit cards without making any special accommodations for the company.

Back in August 2019, the company introduced the Apple Card in the US. Until now, the service is exclusive to the United States. The company stated the reason behind choosing India before any other European country or Japan as the next destination for introducing Apple Card. According to the company, India does not accept card payments presently. Instead, the purchases are regulated via the national Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The country has several rules and laws that restrict third-party websites from saving credit card particulars on their platforms.

For U.S. users, the company introduced the Apple Cards in collaboration with Goldman Sachs. The physical cards have the name of the customer imprinted on the front. It is a plain titanium card with no numbers printed on it. On the back of the card Mastercard and Goldman Sachs are mentioned. According to the current co-branded credit card rules in India, these are supposed “not liberties that Apple can take in India.”

The process is still undergoing. It seems like the decision is pending at the moment. During his trip to India, Apple’s CEO attended the inauguration of the first retail store in Mumbai. Previously, the company was selling its products in India via resellers and websites. Surprisingly, the company’s sales hit $6 billion in the year through March. The company was able to generate a revenue of nearly 50% in India. It is up from $4.1 billion a year earlier, according to a report.