Apple's iPhone loses out in new contactless payment support for Beijing public transit

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
Yikatong, the company handling payments for Beijing's public transit, this week enabled contactless payments for riders using Android -- but has reportedly skipped support for the iPhone.




The core issue is that Apple doesn't allow NFC payments outside of Apple Pay, according to the Financial Times. That might have allowed payments through a Yikatong iPhone app, or common local platforms Alipay and WeChat Pay. Android phones by companies like Huawei and Xiaomi have no such restrictions on their NFC chips.

It's not clear why Beijing's transit isn't supporting Apple Pay directly. Apple is, however, in just fifth place in the Chinese smartphone market, and even more marginal in terms of the country's mobile transactions. Apple Pay has less than 1 percent marketshare, whereas over half of the market is controlled by Alibaba's Alipay.

Both Alipay and WeChat Pay normally rely on scanning QR codes, rather than NFC.

The Chinese situation sits in stark contrast with neighboring Japan, where Apple Pay is well-supported on public transit. The company has even used this as a marketing point for the iPhone 7.

Apple will be opening up NFC access on the iPhone by way of a new framework in iOS 11, Core NFC, but apparently only for purposes other than payments.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Chinese will always find a way to stop or make harder for outside companies to do business in China. Opening NFC can create security issues but most in world don't care because they have not much to loose.
    jbdragonRacerhomieXAviesheklolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 27
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Thats because China hates Apple...Like I said in another post which I know some hated...China is an absolutely pain in the ass. 
    RacerhomieXAvieshekMuntzmagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 27
    robjnrobjn Posts: 283member
    It seems like they deliberately chose not to support Apple Pay and them blamed Apple for not letting them have direct access to the NFC.

    Presumably, there solution requires users to open an app in order to make a payment - Apple Pay is so much more user friendly.
    jbdragonRacerhomieXMuntzlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 27
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    wood1208 said:
    Chinese will always find a way to stop or make harder for outside companies to do business in China.
    Indeed, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
    robjn said:
    …not letting them have direct access to the NFC.
    That, however, is entirely their problem.  :p
    pscooter63AvieshekRobertoBobarez
  • Reply 5 of 27
    applesauce007applesauce007 Posts: 1,698member
    No restrictions on Android makes it less secure.
    Apple Pay will be just fine.
    RacerhomieXAvieshekmagman1979jony0lolliver
  • Reply 6 of 27
    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    afaik, if it supports NFC payment, it supports Apple Pay? That was the case in the UK anyway, the only changes that were required were for accepting payments over £30 (the standard limit on NFC payments here).
  • Reply 7 of 27
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,311member
    adm1 said:
    afaik, if it supports NFC payment, it supports Apple Pay? That was the case in the UK anyway, the only changes that were required were for accepting payments over £30 (the standard limit on NFC payments here).
    So i'm confused. Are they using NFC or are they using QR Codes? Does Android Pay and Samesung Pay work or do they have to use a app with the payment in that?
    Avieshekwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 27
    AvieshekAvieshek Posts: 100member
    I wonder, when China will taste their own medicine. 
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 27
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Avieshek said:
    I wonder, when China will taste their own medicine. 
    Its only a matter of time before countries like this realize that being able to see things for the sake of seeing them on someone's device is not the way to go. China will have its time...it will eventually get hacked and then we can all laugh in their face. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 27
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    China is in the driver’s seat. Apple knows it. Google knows it. Microsoft knows it. All American companies know it. You either play by China’s rules or you lose access to the world’s biggest consumer market. Gone are the days when American companies could have their way with any economy. China is laughing all the way to the bank. They abscond with U.S. technology and use it to compete with the likes of Apple. They know Apple and others have no choice but to manufacture in China. China is holding all the trump cards right now. They will let who they want to succeed when they want to. When an American competitor gets too aggressive or successful they react. They have the biggest market in the world and they also have foreign manufacturers locked in for the foreseeable future. It’s total win for China and everybody knows it. Talk about the law of large numbers!
    edited August 2017 Solimagman1979jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 27
    foregoneconclusionforegoneconclusion Posts: 2,678member
    They know Apple and others have no choice but to manufacture in China.
    True today, but it's inevitable that China will lose their grip on that down the road. IMO, that's one of the reasons they seem to be in a hurry to tighten the screws right now. The downhill run has already started.
    magman1979
  • Reply 12 of 27
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    lkrupp said:
    China is in the driver’s seat. Apple knows it. Google knows it. Microsoft knows it. All American companies know it. You either play by China’s rules or you lose access to the world’s biggest consumer market. Gone are the days when American companies could have their way with any economy. China is laughing all the way to the bank. They abscond with U.S. technology and use it to compete with the likes of Apple. They know Apple and others have no choice but to manufacture in China. China is holding all the trump cards right now. They will let who they want to succeed when they want to. When an American competitor gets too aggressive or successful they react. They have the biggest market in the world and they also have foreign manufacturers locked in for the foreseeable future. It’s total win for China and everybody knows it. Talk about the law of large numbers!
    And here I was thinking Russia held Trump's cards ... Oh you said trump!  ;)
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 13 of 27
    whammami1whammami1 Posts: 3member
    If Apple opens NFC they will open Apple pay for competition from the likes of Alipay. They will definitely lose out in that competition. Apple wants just the high profit business. They are not interested in mass business.  I would say that is a lack of vision. Creating an ecosystem is more important than the immediate profit. People will move their business to the better ecosystem.

    Ever wonder why there are more google drive users than Icloud.. Google system is much more complete.
  • Reply 14 of 27
    leavingthebiggleavingthebigg Posts: 1,291member
    Hello AppleInsider,

    Did Financial Times mention anything at all about Samsung Pay being used or not being used?

    How about any references to how Google Pay absolutely cannot be used?

    Or, did the article only mention how Apple Pay was shut out?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 27
    tokyojimutokyojimu Posts: 529member
    ApplePay would be too slow for public transit use, especially in Asia where people are streaming through the fare gates. Having to stand there and adjust your finger on the button until it accepts is way slower than the typical NFC acceptance.
  • Reply 16 of 27
    RobertoBobarezRobertoBobarez Posts: 10member
    applesauce007 said:
    No restrictions on Android makes it less secure.
    Apple Pay will be just fine.
    please provide source to support this.
  • Reply 17 of 27
    leavingthebiggleavingthebigg Posts: 1,291member
    tokyojimu said:
    ApplePay would be too slow for public transit use, especially in Asia where people are streaming through the fare gates. Having to stand there and adjust your finger on the button until it accepts is way slower than the typical NFC acceptance.
    You must have missed this... "The Chinese situation sits in stark contrast with neighboring Japan, where Apple Pay is well-supported on public transit. The company has even used this as a marketing pointfor the iPhone 7."
    jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 27
    jony0jony0 Posts: 378member
    Yikatong, the company handling payments for Beijing's public transit, this week enabled contactless payments for riders using Android -- but has reportedly skipped support for the iPhone.
    So does that mean that Yikatong skipped Apple Pay partner China UnionPay ?

    Apple Pay launches in China with support for 80% of credit and debit cards
    While it will be going head to head with payment systems operated by Tencent (WeChat Payment) and Alibaba (Alipay), Bailey said Apple is not looking to compete with banks or China UnionPay.
    "China UnionPay and our Apple Pay solution has a huge advantage, given the footprint of China UnionPay," Bailey said said. "Its merchant acceptance network far exceeds what any of the other mobile platforms have today."


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 27
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    jony0 said:
    Yikatong, the company handling payments for Beijing's public transit, this week enabled contactless payments for riders using Android -- but has reportedly skipped support for the iPhone.
    So does that mean that Yikatong skipped Apple Pay partner China UnionPay ?

    Apple Pay launches in China with support for 80% of credit and debit cards
    While it will be going head to head with payment systems operated by Tencent (WeChat Payment) and Alibaba (Alipay), Bailey said Apple is not looking to compete with banks or China UnionPay.
    "China UnionPay and our Apple Pay solution has a huge advantage, given the footprint of China UnionPay," Bailey said said. "Its merchant acceptance network far exceeds what any of the other mobile platforms have today."


    UnionPay is also partnered up with Samsung Pay. In addition China UnionPay's Quickpass for smartphone payments was exclusively Android, at least until recently. ApplePay might be supported by Quickpass now but didn't find where it was in in quick search.
    edited August 2017
  • Reply 20 of 27
    theotherphiltheotherphil Posts: 51member
    tokyojimu said:
    ApplePay would be too slow for public transit use, especially in Asia where people are streaming through the fare gates. Having to stand there and adjust your finger on the button until it accepts is way slower than the typical NFC acceptance.

    Double click home button and pre-authorise your finger. You then have 60s to tap against a contactless machine and the transaction completes as fast, if not faster than a card.
    watto_cobra
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