China is set to become the latest market where the Apple Pay mobile payment system will become available from February 18 for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) customers, bank representatives said in social media posts yesterday (Tuesday).
Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by Apple Inc. that lets users make payments using the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and later, Apple Watch-compatible devices (iPhone 5 and later models), iPad Air 2, iPad Pro and iPad Mini 3 and later devices.
With the planned launch, China has become the fifth country where Apple Pay is available and ICBC is China’s biggest lender by assets.
ICBC is joined by a raft of peers: Apple’s China website lists 19 Chinese lenders as official Apple Pay partners, and state media reported two other lenders will also go live with the service from Feb. 18.
Greater China is Apple’s second-largest market by revenue, but the company faces an uphill battle to match that prowess quickly in mobile payments.
Reuters reported that Apple Pay’s beginnings have been less than auspicious in other markets, including scepticism from retailers in its home market. But in China, Apple Pay’s issue will be how to compete with dominant and entrenched players, serving shoppers well used to paying for goods and services with their handsets.
