Apple-Pay-250x434 (1) copySmartphone users in China are facing a number of system errors trying to sign up for Apple Pay after it was officially released in the country yesterday.

Apple's mobile payment service became available on February 18 through a partnership with China's state-run interbank network, UnionPay. However, it appears that the sheer amount of users attempting to sign up to the platform during the first 24 hours has overloaded the system.

"It kept telling me the phone 'cannot connect to Apple Pay' or the verification for the card is not available when I was linking a bankcard," said one iPhone owner, who did eventually link the card after several attempts but then "could not even open the app" to register another.

Apple initially announced its intention to launch Apple Pay in China in December, with plans to make the service available in early 2016 following the "relevant tests and certification" required by Chinese regulators.

China is Apple's second largest market when it comes to revenue after the americas. Deals with 19 of the biggest lenders in China will see 80 percent of credit and debit cards in China eligible for use with Apple Pay.

Update 6:16 AM: Apple has clarified that no official statement was given on the issues, and what has been reported by other sources has been misquoted and mistranslated. Apple says it is making Apple Pay available to Chinese users on a rolling basis throughout the day.

Top Rated Comments

coolfactor Avatar
93 months ago
This is embarrassing. A payment service has to be reliable and stable. Apple just sucks when it comes to server stuff...
Need a hug?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jotwee Avatar
93 months ago
This is embarrassing. A payment service has to be reliable and stable. Apple just sucks when it comes to server stuff...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Turnpike Avatar
93 months ago
The system will have problems because its overloaded due to it's popularity, or it will run smooth because it's less popular than expected, it's always one or the other or something in between- good, bad, and the unexpected. I normally take all stories like this (bugs, glitches, errors) with a grain of salt, as Apple has an amazing track record of unfolding some of the most complicated consumer products and services to customers who have the absolute highest expectations, and usually in the longer term they have an extremely high success rate, and end up having the very best products in their space. I just like reading these stories because I find the process interesting.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
American Hero Avatar
93 months ago
The system will have problems because its overloaded due to it's popularity, or it will run smooth because it's less popular than expected, it's always one or the other or something in between- good, bad, and the unexpected. I normally take all stories like this (bugs, glitches, errors) with a grain of salt, as Apple has an amazing track record of unfolding some of the most complicated consumer products and services to customers who have the absolute highest expectations, and usually in the longer term they have an extremely high success rate, and end up having the very best products in their space. I just like reading these stories because I find the process interesting.
Tim, is that you?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
American Hero Avatar
93 months ago
From my understanding it's not valid with every retailer with NFC or maybe retailers can block it? So it doesn't work at some like Walmart etc. and if that's the case it's I stand by my half baked feature comment.
Retailers can certainly shut off NFC capabilities on their terminals, but that would prevent Android Pay, Apple Pay, and contactless cards from working on those terminals. Apple Pay is just a special name for NFC payment.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JGIGS Avatar
93 months ago
From my understanding of Apple pay (since we don't have it in Canada yet) it only works with companies debit/credit terminals who are set up for Apple pay. If it doesn't work with every terminal as just a tap and pay why bother dealing with? It's actually faster for me to just pull out my tap and pay CC or debit card and not worry if a retailer supports apple pay. Such a half baked feature.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...