The Unraveling of Apple and HDFC's Exclusive Partnership

In the 2024 financial year, Apple sold products worth $8 billion in India. This was a third more than the previous year.

But how did a premium company like Apple that hates giving discounts sell products worth 8 billion dollars in a country as price sensitive as India? Apple obviously knew that its phones were unaffordable for most people in India?

It found an answer was easy financing. After the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, Apple made financing tie-ups with banks a mainstay. And one of the most important deals Apple made was with India’s largest private sector lender, and leading credit card issuer HDFC Bank. In fact, it was one of the costliest deals HDFC had. Thanks to it, HDFC customers have been enjoying exclusive cashbacks on Apple products ever since.
Here’s the bad news. The deal between Apple and HDFC is now over.

What happened?

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