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Apple taps HDFC Bank to launch credit card
June 26, 2023
iPhone maker Apple is in talks with banks and regulators to launch its credit card, dubbed “Apple Card,” in India. The company’s CEO, Tim Cook, met with HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan during his trip to India in April, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
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, Moneycontrol has learned. 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.
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