With an optimistic plan to take on entrenched Chinese mobile payment rivals, Apple Pay made its move into mainland China on Thursday this week in hopes of making the country its biggest market.
While some experts doubt the prospects of Apple’s high-tech payment system to compete with local giants including Alipay and WeChat, luxury retail is taking notice of the method. On the date of Apple Pay’s launch, Lane Crawford announced that all of its mainland China locations will offer Apple Pay, making it one of the first retail locations in the country to offer the service. “Offering Apple Pay as a payment option to our customers is another important step towards an even stronger connected commerce strategy, constantly evolving and leveraging on the digital and mobile world which is vitally important in Asia,” said Lane Crawford President Andrew Keith in a press release.
The launch allows China’s only credit card company UnionPay, which has teamed up with Apple Pay, to take on Alipay and Tencent’s TenPay as they compete to win over Chinese consumers’ e-wallets.