2015 is going to be a massive year for mobile payments in Asia. China is already one of the largest markets of mobile payments users, but with Apple Pay and UnionPay's 'AndroidPay' app hitting the market next year, we will perhaps start to see the real potential of China as a leading territory for mobile payments.
The potential for China to be a leading market in the space has always been obvious, not least because of the country's vast population. It has been difficult in the past for existing payment technologies to break into the market however. This is no better demonstrated than by Apple - but the signs are that the company is set to makes its biggest advances ever into the territory over the next year.
UnionPay is the government owned clearing houses for credit and debit cards in China. Apple successfully secured its co-operation in 2014 to faciliate App store payments for customers in China. In March 2015, Apple will take that co-operation further, and is set to introduce Apple Pay with UnionPay's help to the Chinese market.
Alongside the introduction of leading mobile payments technology to iOS users in China, UnionPay plan to introduce its own mobile payments app for Android users in the territory. The App is set to simply be called 'AndroidPay' and is rumoured to work much the same as Apple Pay - utilising fingerprint technology and NFC. UnionPay is reported to have approached leading manufacturers, such as Lenovo and Coolpad, to work on the project.
The Mobile Payments proposition is fast becoming a global matter. China has the potential to be the leading market and set the standard and 2015 will be the year we start to see that potential fulfilled.
By Matthew Taylor 1st December 2014
Related stories around the web
Chinese giant plans payment app - Mobile World Live
AndroidPay could be a thing in China next year - Mobile Payments Today
Apple Adds Chinese payment system UnionPay to App store - Wall Street Journal
Apple Adds UnionPay for App Purchases in China - Recode
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