Apple Pay coming to China next year, let the epayment wars begin

Image via Shinya Suzuki

Apple Pay will be available in mainland China in early 2016, according to a statement released by the company today. To bring Apple’s mobile payment system to the mainland, the company has partnered with China UnionPay, the main card company used by Chinese banks.

The pairing means that Apple Pay can work with the already-omnipresent UnionPay QuickPass terminals (the consoles near many cash registers where users can simply tap their card, instead of swiping it), using the iPhone and Apple Watch’s NFC antennas.

Apple says the service will be functional “as soon as early 2016 after relevant tests and certifications required by Chinese regulators.” Navigating the world of Chinese regulators is no easy task, but it is one that Apple – more than many other foreign tech companies – is very familiar with.

Chasing after WeChat and Alipay

It would be wrong to say that Apple has missed the boat on epayments in China, but it certainly isn’t leading the pack. Over the past few years, WeChat Wallet and Alipay – the payment apps run by Tencent and Alibaba, respectively – have revolutionized China’s epayments space.

Alipay’s rise was fueled by its use on Taobao, the Chinese ecommerce juggernaut, while WeChat Wallet grew through peer-to-peer transfers and in-app purchases. Since their initial periods of adoption, the services have expanded to now include everything from buying stocks to paying for taxis. Both WeChat and Alipay are now used extensively for in-store cashless payments, too.

See also: I tried to survive an entire day using WeChat to pay for stuff. Here’s how it went.**

It will be interesting to see how Apple attempts to differentiate itself in the Chinese payments space. The UnionPay partnership certainly gives the company access to many Chinese bank account holders, but that isn’t an automatic key to success. Many establishments that currently accept UnionPay also accept WeChat Wallet and Alipay, after all, and customers have not showed any particular loyalty to their card company.

Apple Pay will lubricate the process of Chinese people buying apps and other Apple services, but it will need more than that to truly stand out from the crowd.

H/T: The Verge