Apple Credit Card-Is it coming to India?

Apple Credit Card-Is it coming to India? A big question mark, oaky lets dive in for details.

What Happening Now?

Apple introduced its credit card in 2019, but it’s only available in the United States. There have been rumours about Apple expanding to Europe, but that hasn’t happened yet. If Apple does decide to launch the credit card in India, it would be a remarkable move, highlighting India’s potential market.

So, why is Apple so interested in financial services? Apple has a bunch of financial products and services like Apple Pay for mobile payments, a credit card, a high-interest savings account, and a “buy now, pay later” service. While Apple isn’t a full-fledged bank, it has built a strong financial ecosystem in the last some years. This has even being a challenge as a competitor for Regular banks like JPMorgan.

The talk of town mostly is that Apple’s primary goal isn’t to become a bank but to keep people within its ecosystem. To get the benefits of certain Apple financial services, you typically need an iPhone, which helps keep users loyal to Apple.

However, there are signs that Apple might have some banking ambitions. For instance, its “buy now, pay later” service doesn’t rely on a traditional bank. Apple is using its own cash to provide lending, which is unconventional.

Apple also has a secret project called “Breakout” that aims to handle interest calculations, rewards, and credit checks internally, bypassing its partners. Apple even acquired a fintech startup in the UK that specializes in using alternate data to assess borrowers’ creditworthiness.

All these steps indicate that Apple might be exploring a more substantial presence in the financial sector as a way to become less dependent on its core business of selling products.

Apple’s reputation for trust and privacy aligns with what a bank should uphold, making it well-positioned to disrupt traditional banking. People have a strong and intimate relationship with their smartphones, which makes Apple an attractive option for younger consumers.

Apple Credit Card-Is it coming to India: The Apple’s Interest!

Now, let’s talk about India. India isn’t among Apple’s top markets, and Apple didn’t pay much attention to India until recently. However, India holds massive potential. Apple currently has a small share of the smartphone market in India, but this could change as disposable incomes rise.

As people in India buy more Apple products, they might prefer to pay for them in instalments using credit cards. This can benefit Apple, especially if it offers co-branded cards to reduce fees. Launching a co-branded credit card could address this issues like, challenges in accepting Indian debit and credit cards on its App Store due to regulatory changes.

Moreover, there are rumours that Apple wants to enter the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market in India, which could open up new opportunities.

So, what’s in it for a partner bank like HDFC in India? Unlike Apple’s U.S. partner, Goldman Sachs, Indian banks like HDFC are well-established consumer banks with conservative lending practices. So, a bank like HDFC is largest private-sector bank in the country, it holds a dominant position in the credit card market. Despite a temporary setback when it was prohibited from issuing new credit cards for approximately nine months in 2022, HDFC’s conservative lending practices make it less susceptible to the issues experienced by Goldman Sachs. Furthermore, HDFC doesn’t need to start from scratch in establishing a consumer brand; it already stands as a significant player in the financial industry.

While this is all speculation for now, if Apple does launch credit cards in India, it could have a significant impact on the financial landscape.

Whether Apple Credit comes or not You will get our Financial Updates.

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