Apple allows UnionPay on Chinese App Store

Apple Inc said yesterday that users can now pay for purchases from its Chinese application store with China UnionPay credit and debit cards, a move to help Apple expand business in the country, its second-biggest app market.

"The ability to buy apps and make purchases using UnionPay cards has been one of the most requested features from our customers in China," Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said in a statement.

There are more than 4.5 billion bank cards supporting the China UnionPay standard on the Chinese mainland.

Before this latest move Chinese users had to make payment on the App Store with dual-currency credit cards or Apple's prepaid cards. The prepaid cards containing a minimum value of 50 yuan (US$8.16) is not convenient for users buying only one or two apps, whose prices start at 6 yuan, in its Chinese App Store.

Hopes are also raised that the cooperation between Apple and China UnionPay will result in the eagerly-awaited Apple Pay, a new payment system installed in the latest iPhone 6, being made available in China's market, industry insiders said.

But Apple and China UnionPay declined to comment on the Apple Pay issue yesterday.