Apple has officially announced that Apple Pay will be coming to China in early 2016 as part of a partnership with China UnionPay. Apple Pay will work with China UnionPay’s QuickPass-enabled POS terminals, and UnionPay cardholders will be able to easily add their bank cards to Apple Pay on their iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad.
China UnionPay operates China’s national inter-bank clearing and settlement system, and a worldwide UnionPay Card acceptance network; over 5 billion UnionPay cards have been issued worldwide, which can be used at more than 26 million merchants throughout both urban and rural areas in China. Apple Pay and UnionPay still need to pass elevant tests and certification required by Chinese regulators for the service to be deemed in compliance with the applicable national mobile payment and financial industry standards in China.
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