Apple, Samsung Pay join China's UnionPay

Beijing: Apple, Samsung and China`s UnionPay announced a partnership on Friday to bring the digital wallet of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay to China, cashing in on the popularity of such services in the country.

China UnionPay cardholders will be able to link their bank cards to Apple and Samsung Pay and make payments without cash or cards, Xinhua cited a joint statement from the companies as saying.

It said Apple and Samsung Pay will be made available to China UnionPay cardholders in early 2016 after certification by Chinese regulators.

Chinese third party payment firms handled online payments of 3.65 trillion yuan ($563 billion) in the third quarter, up nearly 11 percent from the previous quarter, according to research company Analysys.

Market leader Alipay has more than 400 million users, including 270 million who regularly make payments using mobile phones.

China UnionPay, which has issued more than five billion bank cards home and abroad, launched its own digital wallet for phones jointly with over 20 commercial banks last Saturday.

"China UnionPay is dedicated to promoting payment innovations and providing secure, convenient payment experiences for its hundreds of millions of cardholders, aligning multiple parties in the industry," said Chai Hongfeng, executive vice president of China UnionPay.