India, Jan. 21 -- iPhone maker Apple is reportedly mulling launching its digital payments service, Apple Pay, in India by late-2026.

As per a Business Standard report, the big tech major is in discussions with global card networks like Visa and Mastercard to roll out the service in the country. Apple also plans to seek regulatory approvals to launch the digital payments offering.

Apple plans to roll out the service in phases. In the first stage, Apple Pay will focus on card-based contactless payments - allowing users to add their cards to Apple Wallet and pay by tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch on NFC-enabled machines. As of now, cards issued in India cannot be added to Apple Wallet.

In the later phases, the big tech giant could als...