CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - Apple Inc. (AAPL) has reached a preliminary agreement with China UnionPay Co. to introduce its new Apple Pay electronic payment service in China through China UnionPay's point-of-sales network, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the Bloomberg report, China UnionPay plans to introduce Apple Pay as soon as next year in China, where mobile-payment transactions have shown a sharp increase. Shanghai-based company is China's largest payment and clearing network.
Through the deal with China UnionPay, Apple Pay could be rolled out to more than 5 million point-of-sale machines that are NFC-enabled in China, Bloomberg reported.
Apple's mobile-payment system may help China UnionPay and Chinese banks to fend off rising competition from third-party payment services providers such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) and Tencent Holdings Ltd (TCEHY.PK).
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