Four months after entering China, has Apple Pay experienced its embarrassment?

In February of this year, I suddenly found that a group of iPhone-using friends in my WeChat Moments started showing off a new payment method. They couldn’t wait to go to places like Starbucks to spend money, and after they were done, they posted on WeChat Moments, threatening to uninstall Alipay. Oh, you rich people really know how to play.

Apple Pay, which was once highly anticipated, officially entered the Chinese market. On February 18, the day it was launched, 38 million bank cards were bound to it. However, data shows that by the end of 2015, only 82.19 million iPhone 6 and above models were sold in Greater China. In other words, about one-third of users tried Apple Pay right after it entered the Chinese market. Many Apple fans actively and enthusiastically searched for various places where Apple Pay could be used, and used it while it was new.

However, more than four months have passed. Now when I go out to buy a squid skewer at night, I can still see the Alipay and WeChat QR codes printed on the sign of the snack cart. Apple Pay seems to have no movement, submerged in the market already occupied by Alipay and WeChat. The occasional splash is difficult to be noticed by low-end consumers like me. So has Apple Pay encountered a development bottleneck in the Chinese market and fallen into an embarrassing situation?

Give me a reason to give up, then I will be used to Alipay and WeChat

At first, I really didn’t understand the pleasure of paying with Apple Pay, but user needs will always be unsatisfied and there will always be room for further exploration, and there will always be things you can’t imagine.

1. Fast. Q: How many steps are there to pay with WeChat or Alipay? Step 1, open the app; Step 2, scan the code or enter the account number; Step 3, enter the password to pay. How many steps are there to pay with Apple Pay? Come closer. Whoosh! The payment is completed, just that fast. But spending money this way is fun, but who knows how much money you have to eat.

2. No need to connect to the Internet. "Oh, I'm out of data, there's no wireless around, I can't pay you." "Aren't you using Apple Pay?" "...... (Failed to escape the bill)"

3. Cool. You asked me whether I should pay by cash, card or Alipay? I took out my phone silently. Yes, I use an Apple computer and can use Apple Pay. I suddenly felt like I was at the forefront of technology and fashion.

4. Discounts. User loyalty is nothing in front of discounts. As long as you are affordable, they will try their best to use it. However, some netizens said that the card swiping machine in the supermarket downstairs from their home sometimes "automatically" broke down. They wondered if it was because they could not afford the discount and felt upset.

In addition to these, Apple Pay also has a very powerful function, which is the ability to withdraw money from ATM machines.

No wonder friends who own Apple computers are so eager to experience it. With Apple Pay in hand, the world is mine.

Is Apple Pay not taking root in the Chinese market?

However, despite all the above-mentioned "pleasures", the peculiarities of the Chinese market still bring some "incompatibility" to Apple Pay:

First, there is a lack of preparation for market expansion. For example, many small shops and stalls support the use of Alipay and WeChat, and you can also pay for taxis, but Apply Pay is relatively less down-to-earth and does not cover a wide range of application scenarios.

Second, users still need an adaptation period to some extent. For example, some supermarket clerks may not have received relevant training when they are asked to pay with Apple Pay. Not all Apple users know about the existence of Apple Pay. After all, I have Alipay and WeChat to meet my daily needs. Why should I bother learning to use new things? Habit is a very powerful force.

Third, the threshold is relatively high. To use Apple Pay, you must first meet three conditions: an iPhone 6 or above, a bound credit card, and a POS machine that supports contactless payment.

The first rule excludes two-thirds of non-Apple smartphone users in China and some Apple Pay users of iPhone 6 and below. The second rule makes it difficult for some small stores, as the speed of hardware upgrades is not that fast and there is no major driving force for updates.

In addition, Apple Pay occasionally has some minor bugs, which also causes some damage to the user experience. However, I believe these are still under continuous improvement and will not be the main problem.

The next stop is: Three-legged Tripod?

Since Apple Pay officially entered the Chinese market on February 18 this year, it has gone from being highly anticipated at the beginning to being calm now. It seems that it has not formed a three-way split with Alipay and WeChat Pay. Although many mainstream Chinese banks have become Apple Pay's partner banks and are actively promoting it, so far, the high-end "Apple Pay + bank card" has been somewhat popular in the market. After years of scenarios and user cultivation, the strong position of Alipay and WeChat Pay in the Chinese market may not change in the short term. Apple Pay still has a long way to go to split the payment world.

Compared with Alipay and WeChat QR code payment, Apple Pay’s entry into China can only improve China’s payment model, but it does not have the ability to subvert it. However, from the perspective of different transaction methods of mobile payment, the market occupied by Alibaba and Tencent is mainly online, and offline will become the focus of competition. In addition, some unique functions of Apple Pay also bring users a very fresh experience, which is its highlight.

In addition, the natural threshold of Apple Pay also provides a segmentation of consumer groups. People who can use this payment method have relatively higher spending power. After all, people like me who don’t go to Starbucks for coffee only use Alipay to buy a bottle of water in the supermarket. Therefore, Apple Pay focuses on payment security and excellent user experience, which is also a path for promotion. It may not be able to compete with giants head-on, but it still has a future if it can find unfilled gaps, form a unique payment system, and provide a better payment experience.

But do you ask me if I care about the above? Well, I can’t afford an iPhone anyway. Even if I bind my card, there is no money in it. Haha.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.