Samsung Electronics is set to launch into China’s mobile payment market by mounting Samsung Pay on its new low-cost smartphones early next year. Apple is also preparing to debut Apple Pay in China in February next year.
The world’s biggest two smartphone makers—Samsung Electronics and Apple—are set to fight again to get the upper hand in China’s mobile payment market.
According to industry sources on November 25, Samsung Electronics is in talks with China’s four major state-run banks, including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China, and the nation’s state-run card company UnionPay to launch its Samsung Pay service in China within the first quarter of next year.
At present, UnionPay occupies more than a 90-percent share in China’s credit and debit card market. To launch into China’s mobile payment market, Samsung Electronics plans to apply Samsung Pay, which has been limited to its high-end models such as the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 series, to low-cost models, including the Galaxy A series.
