Apple Pay steps into crowded market

An employee uses an Apple iPhone to demonstrate to reporters how to pay using the Apple Pay service at an Apple store in Beijing, China, February 17, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Despite the seemingly good start, industry observers said it would not be an easy ride for Apple Pay to develop in China's already crowded mobile payment market.

Apple and Chinese bankcard association UnionPay launched the contactless payment system Apple Pay on Thursday.

Users of the iPhone 6 or more advanced versions, certain iPads and Apple Watches will be able to use these devices, equipped with near field communication technology, to buy items in stores in China, Apple's second largest market.

Apple has pinned a lot of hope on China, which is the fifth market in the world to get the service. "We think China could be our largest Apple Pay market," Jennifer Bailey, vice-president of Apple Pay, said in a recent interview with Reuters.

"Apple Pay is the new baby on the playground," said Sandy Shen, an analyst at IT research company Gartner Inc. "But the question is, when the curiosity fades, how can it secure a large number of active users?"

"I don't think the great efficiency in payment alone can help get more users in the long run. After all, both Alibaba and Tencent's offerings are more than payment. You can also communicate with friends and buy wealth management products," among other things, she said.

Chinese Internet titans Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings combined have more than 90 percent of the share.

Gao Peng, an Apple Watch user, said it took him nearly an hour to add a bank card in order to use the service. "The process is not complicated. I think it was probably time-consuming because so many people were trying to do it at the same time," he said.

Many Apple users in China said they have experienced some trouble when adding the card in the Wallet app. Apple was not available for comment when reached by China Daily on Thursday.

According to Apple's website, as many as 12 Chinese banks already support Apple Pay. Millions of brick-and-mortar stores, including chains like KFC and McDonald's, and many applications also support the service.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

mengjing@chinadaily.com.cn