(ECNS) -- Apple has officially launched the long-awaited Apple Pay in China, but it appears the service is facing challenges in the world's second largest economy, the Beijing Youth Daily reports.
Chinese consumers will now be able to use the service to purchase items at supported retailers using their iPhones and Apple Watches.
But enthusiasm for the new payment method flooded the application system, causing delays and failed attempts for many users.
A reporter from the newspaper said there were long waits at each step of the registration process. Sometimes the connection to Apple Pay repeatedly failed.
The process worked better after the reporter changed the location from China to the United States in the setup, a tip provided by other netizens. It finally took ten minutes to connect Apple Pay with an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China credit card.
On Chinese social networking sites, some complained that they hadn't managed to add a bank card after hours of trying. Data showed more than 100,000 China Merchants Bank card users had used Apple Pay by 12:40 p.m. on Thursday.
The report also said that many small supermarkets and food stores are not yet familiar with the Apple Pay service, although they support mobile payment methods offered by China's two biggest Internet companies, Alibaba and Tencent.
