Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,290
30,366



A pair of new videos appear to show Apple Pay working with UnionPay bank cards in China for both in-store and in-app purchases.

Apple-Pay-UnionPay.jpg

In the first video, a customer appears able to select a UnionPay card in Apple Pay and hold his iPhone near a QuickPass-enabled Verifone payment terminal to complete a purchase at McDonald's. The terminal says "transaction completed" and the self-checkout kiosk proceeds to print a paper receipt.


The second video appears to show an iPhone user selecting a UnionPay card in Apple Pay and making an in-app purchase within Chinese travel app Ctrip. The transaction looks to be secured with Touch ID and approved. The veracity of either of the two videos cannot be confirmed, but the timing makes sense.


Last month, Apple announced that Apple Pay will expand to China in early 2016 in partnership with UnionPay, a state-run interbank network that holds a monopoly on the country's credit and debit card processing. UnionPay cardholders will be able to use Apple Pay on iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad -- the latter for in-app purchases only.
"Apple Pay has revolutionized the way millions of people pay every day with their iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "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."
China will be the fifth country to adopt Apple Pay since its U.S. launch in October 2014. The mobile payments service expanded to the United Kingdom in July 2015, followed by Australia and Canada last November in partnership with American Express. Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain will gain support later this year.

Apple Pay may officially launch in China by February 8, the first day of the Spring Festival.

(Thanks, Jarod!)

Article Link: Apple Pay Seemingly Nearing Launch in China With UnionPay
 
  • Like
Reactions: appledefenceforce

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
youtube videos in a story almost exclusively useful to people in china. good one. [edit: without any reference to the fact they are youtube videos, so they just appear as blank spaces]

i tried this, with a few debit and credit cards. i just get told "this card is not eligible for apple pay". and an error occurs when i press the add card button if i try the same with my region set to china.
 
Last edited:

thasan

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2007
1,104
1,031
Germany
That's potentially a great news. Even with slowing down economy, it will be fantastic for Apple if it catches the spring festival deadline :)
 

haruhiko

macrumors 604
Sep 29, 2009
6,529
5,874
The first day of Chinese New Year ("Spring Festival") is usually a public holiday in a lot of countries and it's also, of course, a bank holiday. I don't think launching an important product on this day is smart.
 
  • Like
Reactions: appledefenceforce

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
The first day of Chinese New Year ("Spring Festival") is usually a public holiday in a lot of countries and it's also, of course, a bank holiday. I don't think launching an important product on this day is smart.

i think by "by" they mean "before" and not "on".
 
  • Like
Reactions: acidsoul

Pakaku

macrumors 68040
Aug 29, 2009
3,119
4,359
The first day of Chinese New Year ("Spring Festival") is usually a public holiday in a lot of countries and it's also, of course, a bank holiday. I don't think launching an important product on this day is smart.
Launching it on a holiday and letting it simmer in the minds of people who would want to use it could spark a bit of hype...
 

macnewbie91

macrumors 6502
Jul 24, 2015
322
193
Finally. Im delighted since I can't get my UnionPay card working on AliPay account.

Too many [____]Pay services.

Are merchants equipped with NFC capable readers in China like they are in the UK, Canada, and Australia? You know, where almost every merchant has one...
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
Finally. Im delighted since I can't get my UnionPay card working on AliPay account.

Too many [____]Pay services.

ID problems? (assuming with a name like Robert Goulden you won't have a chinese ID)

Are merchants equipped with NFC capable readers in China like they are in the UK, Canada, and Australia? You know, where almost every merchant has one...

i can't speak for every city in China, but in Shenzhen they're almost everywhere. more so than in the UK even a couple of years into "contactless". you could go weeks without seeing a non-quickpass enabled card reader. you could also easily go months without seeing someone use that feature, however. i can't recall ever seeing someone ahead of me use contactless on a card reader (i have used it myself a couple of times, but only ever in burger king and mcdonalds which also recently got new card readers).

the only problem might be the workflow with many of these (with the exception of burger king and mcdonalds which work very much like back in the UK). currently it's insert card -> merchant enters amount -> enter pin -> sign. not sure if it'll work everywhere (straight away) with the desired merchant enters amount -> apple pay -> no need to sign.
 
  • Like
Reactions: appledefenceforce

iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
2,581
2,748
UK
Are merchants equipped with NFC capable readers in China like they are in the UK, Canada, and Australia? You know, where almost every merchant has one...

Yeah, as Nicho says, its pretty ubiquitous, although I only see people use QR code payments with their *sigh* AliPay accounts.

ID problems? (assuming with a name like Robert Goulden you won't have a chinese ID)

I think that's part of it, though I got stuck on the actual data entry, where it was telling me my name didn't match that on my bank account. I even asked the bank to help me set it up and they gave up. I conceded defeat and just get a colleague to top-up my AliPay account from their own and give them the cash. China is a world of bodges and work-arounds :p
 

Yelmurc

macrumors regular
Apr 16, 2008
219
58
Houston TX



A pair of new videos appear to show Apple Pay working with UnionPay bank cards in China for both in-store and in-app purchases.

Apple-Pay-UnionPay.jpg

In the first video, a customer appears able to select a UnionPay card in Apple Pay and hold his iPhone near a QuickPass-enabled Verifone payment terminal to complete a purchase at McDonald's. The terminal says "transaction completed" and the self-checkout kiosk proceeds to print a paper receipt.


The second video appears to show an iPhone user selecting a UnionPay card in Apple Pay and making an in-app purchase within Chinese travel app Ctrip. The transaction looks to be secured with Touch ID and approved. The veracity of either of the two videos cannot be confirmed, but the timing makes sense.


Last month, Apple announced that Apple Pay will expand to China in early 2016 in partnership with UnionPay, a state-run interbank network that holds a monopoly on the country's credit and debit card processing. UnionPay cardholders will be able to use Apple Pay on iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad -- the latter for in-app purchases only.China will be the fifth country to adopt Apple Pay since its U.S. launch in October 2014. The mobile payments service expanded to the United Kingdom in July 2015, followed by Australia and Canada last November in partnership with American Express. Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain will gain support later this year.

Apple Pay may officially launch in China by February 8, the first day of the Spring Festival.

(Thanks, Jarod!)

Article Link: Apple Pay Seemingly Nearing Launch in China With UnionPay
[doublepost=1453387622][/doublepost]The more places that accept Apple Pay the better. It just means that this more secure payment method will become more common worldwide
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
I think that's part of it, though I got stuck on the actual data entry, where it was telling me my name didn't match that on my bank account. I even asked the bank to help me set it up and they gave up. I conceded defeat and just get a colleague to top-up my AliPay account from their own and give them the cash. China is a world of bodges and work-arounds :p

out of interest, which bank? for various reason's i've ended up with 4 or 5 different accounts. most of them work fine, some of them refused to. i think one of them was because of the name issue, come to think of it.
 

iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
2,581
2,748
UK
out of interest, which bank? for various reason's i've ended up with 4 or 5 different accounts. most of them work fine, some of them refused to. i think one of them was because of the name issue, come to think of it.

HSBC, they're rubbish in China ironically. I regret ever getting one with them, but I'm too lazy to change...
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
HSBC, they're rubbish in China ironically. I regret ever getting one with them, but I'm too lazy to change...

ah ok. they're not one of the biggest here. did you try your name, last name first?
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
All sorts. The bank couldn't even figure it out. Oh well, glad you had more luck!

I have one debit card (bank of China I think) that gave me the same answer on wechat wallet. I tried everything and it would work where my other cards did. I don't tend to use that account anymore.

It's a mystery, made harder in a foreign language!
 

macnewbie91

macrumors 6502
Jul 24, 2015
322
193
i can't speak for every city in China, but in Shenzhen they're almost everywhere. more so than in the UK even a couple of years into "contactless". you could go weeks without seeing a non-quickpass enabled card reader. you could also easily go months without seeing someone use that feature, however. i can't recall ever seeing someone ahead of me use contactless on a card reader (i have used it myself a couple of times, but only ever in burger king and mcdonalds which also recently got new card readers).

the only problem might be the workflow with many of these (with the exception of burger king and mcdonalds which work very much like back in the UK). currently it's insert card -> merchant enters amount -> enter pin -> sign. not sure if it'll work everywhere (straight away) with the desired merchant enters amount -> apple pay -> no need to sign.

You have to enter your PIN AND sign?
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
You have to enter your PIN AND sign?

That's how UnionPay works, yup. Certain places have a floor nowadays below which you don't have to sign (usually around the equivalent of $15) such as Starbucks and Burger King, but mostly yup every transaction gets signed after the pin.

It'll be interesting to see how merchants handle Apple Pay... The video doesn't show him signing but I didn't have to in McDonald's last time so that doesn't prove anything. Non chain restaurants, and the like. Will they even know about Apple Pay?
 

macnewbie91

macrumors 6502
Jul 24, 2015
322
193
That's how UnionPay works, yup. Certain places have a floor nowadays below which you don't have to sign (usually around the equivalent of $15) such as Starbucks and Burger King, but mostly yup every transaction gets signed after the pin.

It'll be interesting to see how merchants handle Apple Pay... The video doesn't show him signing but I didn't have to in McDonald's last time so that doesn't prove anything. Non chain restaurants, and the like. Will they even know about Apple Pay?

I've learned a lot about payment methods on the boards of this site once Apple Pay was announced. With that said, most of my learning has had to do with Canada, the UK, the USA, and Australia. I appreciate the classy responses from you guys about the payment systems in China.

Are most of the transactions chip & pin in China?
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
I've learned a lot about payment methods on the boards of this site once Apple Pay was announced. With that said, most of my learning has had to do with Canada, the UK, the USA, and Australia. I appreciate the classy responses from you guys about the payment systems in China.

Are most of the transactions chip & pin in China?

It depends. There's older credit cards out there (UnionPay cards seem to be issued for anywhere up to 10 years I've found) that just swipe and sign, but the vast majority are chip&pin (then sign).
 

patent10021

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2004
3,505
794
Fn massive.

Btw, I don't think this means we can register our North american credit cards with Apple pay then use Apple Pay in China with that transaction being charged to our North American credit card. For one, most phones except the new 6s don't even work in China since they're on a different band. Only the new 6s has the Chinese band.

This is only Apple Pay linked to Union Pay accounts right? So basically this is the Chinese ONLY version of Apple Pay which only applies to Chinese bank accounts. It would be very cool if China Apple Pay could use foreign credit card accounts.

If you had Apple Pay in Japan it will definitely work with foreign credit cards.
 

BruiserB

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2008
1,729
702
Fn massive.

Btw, I don't think this means we can register our North american credit cards with Apple pay then use Apple Pay in China with that transaction being charged to our North American credit card. For one, most phones except the new 6s don't even work in China since they're on a different band. Only the new 6s has the Chinese band.

This is only Apple Pay linked to Union Pay accounts right? So basically this is the Chinese ONLY version of Apple Pay which only applies to Chinese bank accounts. It would be very cool if China Apple Pay could use foreign credit card accounts.

If you had Apple Pay in Japan it will definitely work with foreign credit cards.

My Discover Card has a UnionPay logo on the back and according to their website it should be accepted in China where UnionPay is accepted. Has anyone tried using a Discover Card via ApplePay there?
Discover.JPG

[doublepost=1453411033][/doublepost]Also this says that Discover Cards should be processed on UnionPay terminals:

Discover2.JPG
 

patent10021

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2004
3,505
794
It will probably work since Discover isn't a traditional VISA/MC credit card. It's more like a UnionPay card and they seemed to be linked as your image shows. Though you still might want to check because sometimes it might be restricted to UnionPay usage in HongKong.

If it does work then that could be a good alternative to VISA/MC for traveling foreigners who can get a Discover card. If you live there you're already going to have a UnionPay card obviously.
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,214
3,202
Fn massive.

Btw, I don't think this means we can register our North american credit cards with Apple pay then use Apple Pay in China with that transaction being charged to our North American credit card. For one, most phones except the new 6s don't even work in China since they're on a different band. Only the new 6s has the Chinese band.

This is only Apple Pay linked to Union Pay accounts right? So basically this is the Chinese ONLY version of Apple Pay which only applies to Chinese bank accounts. It would be very cool if China Apple Pay could use foreign credit card accounts.

If you had Apple Pay in Japan it will definitely work with foreign credit cards.

That's a good thought. I might have to go to McDonald's and test it with my uk credit card, these payment terminals are self service so if it doesn't work so be it.
 

patent10021

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2004
3,505
794
That's a good thought. I might have to go to McDonald's and test it with my uk credit card, these payment terminals are self service so if it doesn't work so be it.
Is your phone the Chinese iPhone 6? UK iPhone 6s? Chinese iPhone 6s?

Do you need Wi-Fi or carrier signal for ApplePay? Isn't the data in the hardware therefore negating the need for any type of communication between the phone and world? Terminal just scans the phone right?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.