At the iPhone event last week Apple showed off its new payment solution that we had heard rumors about a couple of months back. The new service is called Apple Pay and it uses NFC, the service is compatible with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch. For obvious reasons this service is not compatible with any other existing iOS device. A new report out of China suggests that Apple Pay might be launched in the People’s Republic as well with a partnership with UnionPay.
Caixin reports that Apple has reached a deal with UnionPay which will allow its service to use the company’s cards. UnionPay is a bank card behemoth in China and it happens to be state-backed, which means that a tie-up with UnionPay is going to open up Apple Pay to millions of potential new users.
However it can not be said for sure right now when this deal will result in Apple Pay actually being launched in the country. For now it is not even known when the company’s new iPhones are going to ship in China. Last year both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were launched in China the very same day they went on sale in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Rumor has it that a certification issue has kept the new iPhones out of China. So folks down there might have a bit of waiting to do. Initially Apple Pay is only going to be launched in the U.S. but its international expansion should come soon enough.
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