Fintech stocks slip; Pine Labs falls 3%, One Mobikwik down 1?ter report on Apple Pay’s India plans- Grow Mudra

Fintech stocks slip; Pine Labs falls 3%, One Mobikwik down 1?ter report on Apple Pay’s India plans

26 Feb , 2026 By : Debdeep Gupta

Shares of Indian payments and fintech companies edged lower on Thursday after a Bloomberg report said Apple Inc. is in talks with banks and card networks to launch Apple Pay in India around mid-2026, raising fresh questions about competitive intensity in the country’s crowded digital payments space.

Pine Labs Ltd shares fell about 3 percent in afternoon trade, while One MobiKwik Systems Ltd stock slipped a little over 1 percent. Other listed fintech and payments-linked stocks also traded with a mild negative bias, even as broader market moves were modest. One 97 Communications (Paytm) stock was trading down 0.6%, partially recovering from intra-day low.

According to the Bloomberg report, Apple is in discussions with HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd., as well as global card networks Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc., to prepare for the rollout. Apple Pay is expected to support India’s Unified Payments Interface alongside card-based payments, subject to regulatory approvals and final timelines.

Apple Pay in India is expected to support India’s Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, alongside card based payments, said the report. UPI, which allows Indian customers to instantly transfer money and pay bills, dominates India’s digital payments space. Apple Pay relies on Face ID or Touch ID to approve payments in-person via tap-to-pay, on websites and through apps.

While an Apple Pay launch would expand consumer choice rather than immediately displace incumbents, investors appeared wary of the longer-term implications. Apple’s entry could intensify competition at the premium end of the payments ecosystem, particularly as the service uses biometric authentication and is tightly integrated across Apple devices.

India remains one of the world’s fastest-growing digital payments markets, dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay, alongside homegrown players such as Paytm. Any move by Apple to monetise payments or services in India is therefore likely to be watched closely by both incumbents and investors.