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
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Below, we outline which U.S. states offer the feature, and additional states that have committed to rolling it out in the feature in...
Apple suppliers will begin mass production of the fourth-generation iPhone SE in December, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a blog post.
The fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to have a similar design as the base iPhone 14, with rumored features including a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a newer A-series chip, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of RAM...
Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased that the company has an "exciting week of announcements" planned next week. Joswiak said to "Mac" your calendars, and the post includes an animated icon for the Finder app on the Mac, so it is clear that at least some of next week's announcements will be related to the Mac.
Subscribe to MacRumors on YouTube for more videos!
Below, we have...
Apple's Greg Joswiak today made it clear that Apple plans to reveal new products next week, teasing refreshed Macs. In a social media post, Joswiak said to "Mac your calendars" because there's an exciting week of announcements that start on Monday morning.
With Joswiak's announcement, it appears that there will not be a dedicated October event for Macs this year, with Apple instead...
Amazon today has the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 10 for the new all-time low price of $366.28, down from $399.00. This sale is only available in the Rose Gold Aluminum model, and Amazon provides an expected delivery date of October 28 for most United States residences.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
On October 28, Apple is expected to release macOS Sequoia 15.1, bringing to Macs the first Apple Intelligence features such as Writing Tools, new Siri features, Smart Replies, and more. In addition, macOS 15.1 adds a handful of welcome tweaks and improvements to existing Mac capabilities.
Here's what we can expect from the first major update to macOS Sequoia later this month. Note that...
Apple today released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2, with the software available for both the USB-C and Lightning models. The AirPods Pro 2 firmware has a build number of 7B19, up from the 7A305 firmware released in September.
The new AirPods Pro 2 firmware comes just ahead of when Apple plans to launch Hearing Health features in iOS 18.1. Hearing Health includes a hearing test...
Apple's Mac mini has long been a powerhouse in a compact form, offering impressive performance in a small package. With rumors swirling about a completely overhauled new model that is likely just days away from being announced, anticipation is building for what Apple has in store.
From enhanced connectivity to major hardware upgrades, the upcoming Mac mini promises to bring significant...
