Amid rumors, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged in an interview with Xinhua news agency on Monday that Apple is working to bring Apple Pay to China.
Cook told the Chinese news agency: “We very much want to get Apple Pay in China. I’m very bullish on Apple Pay in China,” signaling the company is working quick to bring its new mobile payments service to another region besides the US.
China is arguably more important, and Cook said in the interview it could take off faster.
Cook told the paper that Apple is in talks with Chinese banks and Alibaba, whose affiliate Alipay is China’s largest payments service. Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma said in October that the Chinese e-commerce giant was open to working with Apple on Apple Pay.
MarketWatch reported in February Apple’s efforts have hit a snag as China’s central bank, UnionPay bank-card service and e-commerce giant Alibaba, became a struggle to negotiate with, centering mainly around profit sharing.
Cook’s China visit was to focus on Apple Pay’s entry, so maybe he helped smooth things over. Cook also visited the region for Apple’s just announced environmental initiatives to protect forests, he said.
Source: Xinhua