Apple has now started accepting payments using Unified Payments Interface (UPI), RuPay cards, and Netbanking in India, a user reported on Twitter. These payment methods are widely used in the Indian market on other platforms as well.
Apple has started accepting App Store/iTunes payments in India through UPI, Net Banking and RuPay cards now. pic.twitter.com/2a57Oak63X
— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) July 30, 2021
Previously, Apple only supported payments from Visa and MasterCard. With support for more methods, users in India can now buy apps, music, iCloud storage, and more in Apple"s online stores.
Users can top up their Apple ID balance using any of these payment methods. The balance can also be used to pay for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and Apple"s own services like Apple Arcade and Apple One.
RuPay facilitates real-time electronic payments at all banks and financial institutions in India and was launched in 2012. The instant payment network UPI was launched in 2016 and has seen massive growth in India, with players like PayTM, PhonePe, Google Pay, and more recently, WhatsApp dominating the space.
There has been an unprecedented growth in terms of app downloads in recent years in India. The market has been a steady revenue generator for Apple and adding more ways for payments will benefit both users and the app developers.