On February 18, ICBC officially announced support for Apple Pay. ICBC credit card holders are among the first consumers to enjoy card-free payment service once linking personal credit cards with UnionPay logo to their iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad. As a leader in innovation and reform of payment methods and one of the first banks supporting Apple Pay, ICBC will provide card holders with an easier, safer and more private way to pay.

With the rapid development of mobile payment in recent years, ICBC launched the world’s first “Cloud Quick Pass” credit card in cooperation with China UnionPay in 2015 based on the financial and technological innovations and e-ICBC strategy. As a full-function mobile payment product developed by ICBC and genuinely based on mobile phone, this credit card utilizes the cutting-edge technologies including NFC, HCE, TSM (trusted service manager) and Token (payment token), brings a new service mode of immediate demand, immediate response and immediate settlement, and supports offline “near-field communication” card-waving payment and online “far-field communication” one-click payment. As a result, customers can enjoy brand new experience of mobile life with intelligent, safe, fashionable and convenient services. ICBC’s support for Apple Pay is a bolster for its “Cloud Quick Pass” credit card family, thus offering its credit card holders a brand new mobile payment options. Meanwhile, “e-Buy”, the e-commerce platform of the Bank increasingly popular among consumers, becomes the first choice to purchase Apple products with quality warranty on products and interest-free installment payment up to 24 installments.
 
Safety and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When a credit card or debit card is added, the card number is neither saved on the device nor on Apple server. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element, a dedicated chip in an Apple device. When a purchase is made, the Device Account Number, along with a transaction-specific dynamic security code, is used to process the payment.

Thanks to the industry-leading security technology of Apple, the Chinese users will soon experience the benefits of secure personal information, transaction information, and credit card and debit card information. Apple Pay can be used via iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch in a store that accepts the new payment option.

Online shopping in Apps will become so easy with Apple Pay as well. Customers are free from tedious account forms or repeated entries of delivery and bill information. Mobile-app payments with Apple Pay for goods or services are available in iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro.

From traditional POS payment to NFC non-contact quick payment, every evolution of credit card payment cannot be achieved without technology or innovation. Looking ahead, ICBC, as a leader in payment innovation, will establish a mobile payment product system focusing on offline NFC non-contact payment and online far-field communication one-click payment, and develop a mobile payment product line covering all products and operating systems to achieve substantial leap in independent, convenient and safe payment.