Apple, Samsung Bring Mobile Payment Face-Off To China

Given Apple’s success in China – the country is its largest market after the USA – it’s clear why Apple is eager to enter the world’s most populous country.

“Apple Pay has revolutionized the way millions of people pay every day with their iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad”, said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. Apple and UnionPay said they have agreements with 15 Chinese banks to support the system.

China UnionPay’s QuickPass and Apple Pay together will protect customer payment information through industry-leading payment tokenization technology.

South Korea’s top tech firm Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday joined China’s credit card operator UnionPay Co.to promote mobile payment system in the Chinese market.

Unlike the China payment options, such as Alipay or WeChat, neither Apple Pay nor Samsung Pay at present facilitate person-to-person transactions, like money transfers.

Apple Pay, which uses NFC technology, will work at POS terminals enabled to handle UnionPay’s Quickpass. iPhone users will be able to pay by holding the phone near the terminal with a finger on the Touch ID; Apple Watch users can double-click the side button to complete transactions.

“With the rapid development of the mobile payment industry, China UnionPay is committed to open cooperation with other parties in the industry to provide more secure and more convenient products and services for consumers”, said Chai Hongfeng, EVP of China UnionPay, in a statement.

UnionPay claims that 15 Chinese banks will adopt the payment system at launch, with more expected once the service is established in the market.

Near-field communication function, a form of contactless communication between devices, is needed to conduct transactions, and the user’s device must be linked to a UnionPay bankcard before use, according to China UnionPay. To date, there have been over five billion UnionPay cards issued.

Samsung Pay, same deal, partnered with UnionPay, looking at early 2016 roll-out.