Amid forecasts of strong growth in mobile payment services in Asia, Apple could be closer to a launch of Apple Pay in China. Earlier this year, we told you that Apple was negotiating with China UnionPay, the lone bank in China that deals with interbank payments. The bank was hung up on the prospect of paying Apple the small percentage of each transaction that it earns when a consumer uses Apple Pay. The tech titan has also been talking to Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba about helping Apple Pay launch in China. Alibaba’s own Alipay has over 400 million users.

Back in June, Apple registered a new corporate subsidiary in Shanghai’s free-trade zone named Apple Technology Service Shanghai Ltd. According to the Shanghai database, this company is involved in “technical consulting, services and system integration in the field of payments.” Most analysts agree that this is the corporate structure Apple is using for its mobile payment service in China. Even after talking to Alibaba and major financial institutions, for Apple Pay to become available to consumers in China, the country’s central bank will most likely have to sign off on it.

Outside of the U.S., Apple Pay is offered only in the U.K. Canada and China have both been rumored to be among the next countries to receive the service, with Apple CEO Tim Cook making a concerted effort to have Apple Pay launched in China.

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source: DowJones