Visa and Apple have teamed up to enable cardholders in China to add their Visa cards to Apple Pay and make payments overseas.
With Visa’s support for Apple Pay card binding, Chinese cardholders can pay contactless at overseas locations that support near-field communication payments, without the need to open any apps during the process.
Users can also directly pay with Apple Pay without needing to create an additional account when shopping on foreign apps or websites.
Yin Xiaolong, General Manager at Visa Mainland China, said:
“As global digital payments develop rapidly, consumers increasingly expect mobile payment solutions that are smartphone-based and interoperable. Visa has long been committed to providing Chinese cardholders with diverse payment options, enabling them to enjoy a secure and seamless payment experience wherever they are.
Upholding our long‑standing commitment to the Chinese market and to our cardholders, Visa is increasing its investments in data and payment security, launching tokenization services and taking the lead in enabling their use in cross‑border scenarios. We are delighted to work with Apple and financial institutions to bring Chinese cardholders a safer and more convenient new mobile payment experience.”
Tokenization is a key technology for ensuring the security of mobile payments. It generates a unique payment token to replace the credit card number during transaction verification, thereby protecting sensitive information, including credit card numbers and identity details.
Visa will initially support eight Chinese banks for credit card binding with Apple Pay: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, China Citic Bank, Ping An Bank, and Industrial Bank.
Visa and Apple are working to expand ties with additional issuing institutions, including Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, China Construction Bank, China Minsheng Bank, and China Everbright Bank, the card organization said, adding that related functionalities will be gradually rolled out.
Mastercard
Mastercard said on Thursday that Mastercard-branded credit and debit cards issued in China will also soon support Apple Pay.
Cardholders can check the Apple website, the Mastercard and Mastercard NetsUnion websites, as well as card issuing banks’ websites and apps for information on availability and activation.
