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 ApplePay 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 ApplePay 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 ApplePay to millions of potential new users.
Though the Apple Pay system will debut initially in the U.S. alone in October, Apple reportedly has plans in place to begin expand its mobile wallet service internationally to China through partner China UnionPay Co. Details on the alleged agreement were shared by an unnamed source with Beijing-based media group Caixin. UnionPay is a state-backed bank card association, and the company is said to have already reached an agreement to allow the Apple Pay system to link to its cards. Though the companies are said to have reached an agreement, it remains unknown exactly when Apple Pay could launch in the world’s most populous nation. As of now, it’s not even known when the company’s next-generation iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which are required for NFC-based Apple Pay, will debut in China. Last year, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c debuted in mainland China on the same day as a host of other major markets, including the U.S. But this year, Apple reportedly hit an internal delay thanks to regulatory approval requirements in the country. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will debut in the U.S. and 8 other countries next Friday, Sept. 19. The other launch locations are Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, the U.K., France, and Germany.
