SHANGHAI: An Apple Pay base has been set up in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), according to the Shanghai FTZ management committee.
The company was registered in the Shanghai FTZ in June, according to literature distributed by the management this week, which included the Apple Pay company among ventures established in the zone.
Apple has been working to introduce its Apple Pay service to China and is reported to be in talks with China’s bankcard association China UnionPay to tap into the country’s nearly 1 trillion dollar mobile payment market.
Apple did not respond to Xinhua’s request for comment.
Apple’s payment service uses near field communication (NFC) and its fingerprint recognition technology to allow users to make contactless payment in stores.
China UnionPay has been promoting NFC payment across China by teaming with telecom operators and deploying NFC-enabled POS machines at stores.
Such mobile payment methods, however, remain niche despite UnionPay’s promotional campaigns. An alternative payment solution, offered by domestic internet firms Alibaba and Tencent, which lets users scan QR code to complete transactions, is far more popular.
