The WeChat leaks of Apple Pay's China launch have been confirmed. Apple's mobile payment system goes live in China on February 18, starting with customers of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Two other vendors will join the launch in the country, with Apple having claimed previously, there will ultimately be 19 banks utilizing the service. China will be the fifth country to take the service live officially, but some NFC terminals will process payments from supported banks in unsupported countries.
In December, Apple reached an agreement with China UnionPay to offer Apple Pay for its cards, which are currently held by some five billion users throughout Asia. UnionPay supports 26 million merchants, with the company's QuickPass service available at 10,000 point-of-sale terminals in mainland China. The deal paved the way towards Apple Pay introduction in the country.
China state radio reported that the China Guangfa Bank Co, and the China Construction Bank announced participation in the Apple Pay launch on social media. These posts have since been deleted by the banks in question, but echoes of the premature reveals linger in shares by interested customers.
While Apple has of yet declined comment about Thursday's launch, Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of Internet Software and Services in a press release after the
UnionPay agreement was hammered out that "Apple Pay has revolutionized the way millions of people pay every day with their iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad. China is an extremely important market for Apple, and with China UnionPay and support from 15 of China's leading banks, users will soon have a convenient, private and secure payment experience."
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