Tomas Chlebek The Apple Pay service, which allows owners of iOS devices to pay with them in stores, was launched by Apple in the United States in the second half in 2014. Today it was finally launched also in the world's second largest market, China.
Tim Cook has already identified Apple Pay in China as a priority several days after the launch of the service in the US. In the end, it took more than a year to resolve issues preventing the launch of Apple Pay in China, such as Apple's image in Chinese media and payment security differing from Chinese standards.
Apple released press release announcing the arrival of Apple Pay to the devices of Chinese bank customers on December 18 last year. In it, he announced that he had partnered with China UnionPay, the country's only bank card provider, and that Apple Pay would launch in China in early 2016. Later this week, it was announced that Apple Pay would offer 19 Chinese banks.
[su_pullquote]In China, this type of payment is already very widespread.[/su_pullquote]Starting today, customers of 12 Chinese banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest bank in China, can use the service to pay with an iPhone, iPad or even a Watch. Further expansion is also expected to include other banks that are widespread in China.
This means that immediately after launch, Apple Pay covers 80% of the total number of credit and debit cards in China. Stores that can accept payments via Apple Pay include 5Star.cn, Mannings, Lane Crawford, All Day, Carrefour, and of course Apple Store, McDonald's, Burger King, 7-Eleven, KFC and others.
In connection with the launch of Apple Pay in China, Apple also launched a new section your website, which copies the English version in terms of content, is however in Chinese. Information is provided here on how Apple Pay is used, which devices support it, and that it is possible to use it for payment both in brick-and-mortar and online stores. Apple also reported separately on the extension of Apple Pay to China developers, so that they can integrate this option into their applications. In-app payments in China are provided by CUP, Lian Lian, PayEase and YeePay.
Unlike the United States, mobile payments have been possible in China since 2004, when Alibaba launched the Alipay service. Currently, many young people in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are completely replacing it with physical currency. The second largest provider of electronic payments, estimated to exceed $2018 trillion in transactions in China in 3,5, is tech giant Tencent with its Tenpay service. Together, Alipay and Tenpay handle nearly 70% of all electronic transactions in China.
So, on the one hand, Apple will face a lot of competition, but on the other hand, it has so much more potential to expand in China than in the United States. While there, Apple Pay forces sellers to allow electronic payments at all, in China this type of payment is already very widespread. Apple Pay's potential for success in China is also boosted by the fact that Apple is the third most popular smartphone brand there. Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, said: "We think China could be the biggest market for Apple Pay."
Apple Pay is currently available to bank customers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and in China. In the near future, the expansion of the service should continue Spain, Hong Kong and Singapore. According to the latest speculations, it should also arrive in France.
