Back in September, Apple created a company in the Shanghai free-trade zone, hinting at its plans to launch its mobile payment solution Apple Pay in the country. Now, Dow Jones & WSJ report that Apple plans to launch Apple Pay in China by February. Apple has reportedly secured agreements with the four largest banks in China to support the platform.
The potential for Apple Pay in China is huge. China is already a bigger market than Europe for Apple and will soon overtake the United States in size. Currently, mobile payment is dominated by Alipay in China, the service created by Alibaba. Apple hopes to launch Apple Pay by China’s Spring Festival Holiday on February 8th.
In the past, it has been reported that Apple has been in talks with Alibaba regarding a potential partnership to help facilitate a faster rollout in the country. At this point, Apple does not appear to have regulatory approval to launch in China, but Tim Cook has commented that he “very much” wants to launch the platform in the country and is “very bullish” on its prospects there.
Most recently, Apple Pay has expanded to the U.K., Canada, and Australia following its initial launch in the United States.
