Samsung Pay has seen a slow rollout globally in comparison with Apply Pay, but the Korean smartphone maker probably doesn"t want Apple to get a huge head start in China, and has now launched its payment system in the country.
China is the largest smartphone market in the world and manufacturers constantly try to get a big chunk of share in the country for their services. Apple is hoping for the country to be its biggest Apple Pay market, while Samsung has also launched its payment system in the country now, in partnership with China UnionPay (CUP).
Samsung"s partnership with CUP guarantees its compliance with the rules and regulations of the country, and the company has also revealed that the system has been certified and tested by relevant agencies. Initially, Samsung Pay will be compatible with credit and debit cards from the China CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank, China Everbright Bank, China Guangfa Bank, China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd, China Merchants Bank, Hua Xia Bank , Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Ping An Bank.
Cards issued by six more banks, including the Bank of China, Bank of Beijing, Bank of Communications, China Bohai Bank, Industrial Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, will be supported in the near future.
Samsung Pay can be used with Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5 in China. It should be noted that the Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge, which support the system in other countries, are absent from the list, but could be included in the future.
Source: Samsung