Apple set to make even more money in China as it adds UnionPay support to App Store

Although far more people use Android phones, China’s iOS users already outspend their Android brethren when it comes to dollars being dropped in the App Store. And yesterday, Apple announced a change that could push the balance even further in its favor: it has has added UnionPay as a payment option for customers in China.

UnionPay, for those who don’t know, is China’s only domestic bank card organization. If you have a bank account in China, you have a UnionPay card. UnionPay is accepted everywhere in China, and the cards are pretty much ubiquitous. Even my father-in-law, who lives in a frozen remote village near the Chinese border with Siberia, has a UnionPay card.

Since more or less everyone in China who owns an Apple device also has a UnionPay card, the addition of UnionPay support will make it much easier for many iOS users to purchase apps. UnionPay has been “one of the most requested features from [Apple’s] customers in China,” according to Apple VP Eddie Cue, and Chinese customers will now be able to link their UnionPay card with their App Store account to make quick one-tap purchases.

Previously, paying for something on the App Store in China was a somewhat convoluted process that involved logging into one’s online banking account and depositing money into an App Store account so that all purchases were prepaid. The relative ease and convenience of paying directly with a UnionPay card could well impact Apple’s app store sales numbers in China, as more customers will find it easier to make more spur-of-the-moment purchases.

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(Source: Apple)