Given the success that Apple Pay has seen in the US, we can only imagine that Apple will want to bring the service to other countries around the world. We have heard how Apple could be in talks with UK banks, Dutch banks, and how Apple is also considering breaking into the Chinese market.
In fact one of the recent rumors even suggested that Apple could partner up with Alibaba to help bring the service into the country. That being said, new reports have suggested that Apple could be having a difficult time trying to bring Apple Pay into the country. This is because Chinese financial institutions are said to be wary about Apple Pay and also because Apple has reportedly yet to approach regulators about gaining approval for the service.
This means that as far as China’s financial institutions are concerned, they are worried that Apple Pay might not meet China’s requirements for commercial operations. The report goes on to add that Apple and UnionPay, China’s state-owned credit and debit card system operator do not have a great relationship at the moment.
Agreements between both companies that could have opened up Apple Pay to China have reportedly stalled, which is why the service has yet to be officially launched in the country. Assuming this is true, Apple would no doubt want to rectify all of this immediately especially since Tim Cook had publicly stated that China is one of Apple’s key markets.