Apple has set up a company in Shanghai, Apple Technology Service (Shanghai) Co Ltd., to bring Apple Pay to China, according to Yicai (and confirmed my other Chinese media outlets), the online news section of China Business New, as noticed by global investment newswire BrightWire.
According to the local Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) government, Apple registered the company on June 10, with capital of $13.4 million. The government today presented 23 services, including Apple Pay, at a conference with the aim of introducing the FTZ’s preferential policies for technology service providers.
Apple Technology Services (Shanghai) is mainly focused on payments and is represented by Gary Joseph Wipfler, who currently serves as Vice President and Corporate Treasurer of Apple and director at Apple Operations International, the company’s international arm headquartered in Cork, Ireland.
Apple introduced Apple Pay last October, but has since expanded only to the UK, although sources are confident that Apple Pay will arrive in China shortly. Earlier in May, however, Tim Cook was very bullish about the company’s Chinese Apple Pay rollout, as Apple has been in talks with banks. Now that it has created a shell company in China focusing on payments, it appears negotiations were successful and Apple Pay will launch in China. The question is: When will Apple Pay come to Canada?
