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Apple Pay a hit in China with 3 million cards added in 2 days

Chinese consumers have flocked to Apple's contactless payment solution in the weeks since its debut, with one bank reporting that more than 3 million cards were activated on Apple Pay in the first 2 days of availability.

The activation figures come via China Merchants Bank, one of the country's largest financial institutions. Its customers were responsible for approximately 1 million activations — around one third of the total.

"I would rate our first-day performance as 1,000, if the full score is 100," Apple Pay chief Jennifer Bailey told Chinese press, as noted by Internet Retailer.

The biggest beneficiaries of Apple Pay's launch were said to be Groupon competitors Meituan and Dianping, Starbucks, convenience store chain FamilyMart, and McDonald's.

On average, Apple Pay users in China spent just over $15 each during the launch period. One web-based retailer booked more than 10,000 Apple Pay orders.

In all, nearly 20 banks representing 80 percent of UnionPay cards issued in China are on board with Apple Pay.

48 Comments

Soli 10 Years · 9981 comments

China keeps showing up the rest of the world. It's too bad no one in China can afford Apple's products¡

5 Likes · 0 Dislikes
slprescott 11 Years · 759 comments

Tim Cook had predicted 2015 would be "The Year of Apple Pay", but I'm thinking it may be this year.  2015 laid the foundation, seeded the market, and got an initial surge from early adopters.  2016 may be when use grows beyond those early adopters... including the growing list of non-US markets.

4 Likes · 0 Dislikes
[Deleted User] 12 Years · 0 comments

Soli said:
China keeps showing up the rest of the world. It's too bad no one in China can afford Apple's products¡

who's buying them if it's not the chinese people? Not everyone in china is a peasant living in a mud hut ye know.

rob53 14 Years · 3368 comments

adm1 said:
Soli said:
China keeps showing up the rest of the world. It's too bad no one in China can afford Apple's products¡
who's buying them if it's not the chinese people? Not everyone in china is a peasant living in a mud hut ye know.

You didn't notice his sarcasm tag. 

8 Likes · 0 Dislikes
rob53 14 Years · 3368 comments

I'm noticing more merchants take Apple Pay in California and understand what's going on than in Washington state. This makes sense and I'm not sure how much more training Apple can give to get merchants to use it. I still see lots of chip readers not being used and others with notes on them saying they're broken. The latter could simply be a lack of understanding on how to configure them. 

1 Like · 0 Dislikes