It’s the eve of a new battle for Apple in the Chinese market, with the first launch of Apple Pay set for tomorrow.
The service has the backing of 19 major and regional banks as well as a core partnership with Union Pay, the biggest central payment network in China. Apple Pay will be available for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) customers this Thursday, said the bank in a public social media post.
“You no longer need to rummage around your wallet or waste time looking for the right card,” says Apple’s China-facing website. Though it’s been a long time since China’s digitally-enabled middle class did much wallet rummaging, with a highly-consolidated market of existing mobile payment systems.
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