Apple's Efforts at Bringing Apple Pay to China Hitting Roadblocks
While Apple Pay has yet to expand to any markets outside of the United States, rumors have suggested international expansions could begin in the relatively near future. One of those possible markets is China, with the first iOS 8.3 beta seeded to developers last week building in Apple Pay support for China UnionPay.
According to a new report from Caixin [via MarketWatch], however, talks have stalled as Chinese financial institutions remain wary of Apple Pay and Apple has yet to approach regulators about gaining approval for the service.
"Apple is seeking to cooperate with Chinese financial institutions" including banks for the use of Apple Pay, a People's Bank of China (PBOC) official said.
At the same time, the American company has not yet "acknowledged regulators" and as a result "it's unclear whether the product meets the government's requirements" for a commercial operation.
Apple is also struggling with its relationship with UnionPay, China's state-owned credit and debit card system operator. Sources close to the companies said that talks aimed at an agreement that would open China to Apple Pay have stalled.
On the regulatory side, the NFC chips used in the iPhone are said to not fully comply with Chinese technical standards, while regulators are also insisting Apple open a data center in mainland China to manage customer information linked to Apple Pay in that country.
On the institutional side, China UnionPay is reportedly wary of losing some of its grip on the mobile payments market, as the organization currently controls the only NFC payments system in use in China. UnionPay's control of the market has also thwarted Alibaba's Alipay unit, which has so far proven unwilling to pay fees demanded by UnionPay for tapping into the UnionPay payment network.
China has been a major market for Apple in recent years, with Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighting the company's efforts to understand and address that market at a Goldman Sachs conference just last week. Those efforts have led to an explosion in revenue, moving from $1 billion to $38 billion over the last five years as Apple has expanded carrier partnerships, points of sale, and other relationships to establish a strong foothold in the rapidly growing market.
Popular Stories
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...