Apple Pay All Set to Go Live in China This Week

In other Apple Pay news, Apple Pay is reportedly coming to France.

Given that Apple Pay has not taken off elsewhere quite as rapidly as some predicted it would, it will be interesting to see how it fares in China – which Cook has been outspoken about believing will soon represent Apple’s biggest market worldwide.

Together, they account for almost 90% of the third-party mobile payment market in China, which recorded RMB2.42 trillion (US$370 billion) in transactions during the third quarter past year, according to data from iResearch.

Apple Pay will be available in China starting on February 18 for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China customers.

Apple announced in December that Apple Pay would come to China in “early 2016”.

The Chinese state radio station said two more banks, China Construction Bank and China Guangfa Bank, are also planning to support Apple Pay on Thursday, and the remaining 16 banks Apple has listed on its Chinese website are expected not long after.

But mobile payments are more common in China than in the USA, and Apple will face plenty of competition from local incumbents. The mobile payment service is also available in Hong Kong, Spain, Australia and Singapore, but the platform only supports American Express cards in those countries.

Apple must convince such consumers to give Apple Pay a shot. That adds up to a lot of potential iPhone owners who could be persuaded to try Apple Pay.

Users will need to have an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch running iOS 9.2 or Watch OS 2.1 or newer to use the new payments system. Apple is yet to reply to emails seeking comment.