Bloomberg reports that Apple and China’s UnionPay have reached a deal that will bring Apple’s Apple Pay mobile touchless payments system to the country. The deal would see Apple debuting Apple Pay through UnionPay’s point-of-sales network.
Bloomberg, via MacRumors:
Details of the agreement are yet to be finalized, pending feedback from banks that issue cards, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Shanghai-based UnionPay, the nation’s largest payment and clearing network, aims to introduce Apple Pay as soon as next year, one of the people said.
Bloomberg’s sources indicate Apple and UnionPay will band together to fend off UnionPay’s rivals in the Chinese payments market, which include Alibaba Group and Tencent. The deal would bring Apple’s touchless payment option to over 5 million NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals in China.
The sources also note that the duo have yet to sign agreements with any banks inside China, possibly due to the bank’s dislike of Apple’s fees tied with the service, and a low adoption rate. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has already reached deals with the big-four state-run banks in China, and plans to launch Apple Pay in February 2016.
