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The next huge step in Apple Pay’s quest to take over the world

Published Nov 11th, 2014 3:57PM EST
Apple Pay Release Date
Image: Apple Inc.

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Apple Pay is a huge deal. The United States is painfully behind the times when it comes to smartphone-based payment solutions, but Apple is looking to rocket us into the lead in the mobile payments market — while making a boatload of cash in the process. Apple Pay just launched last month and it’s already a huge deal, responsible for about 1% of transactions at Whole Foods in just 17 days. Of course, Apple isn’t just targeting the U.S. with Apple Pay, and the company’s international efforts may get a huge jumpstart sooner than most people expected.

According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks China-based eCommerce giant Alibaba concerning a deal that would bring Apple’s new mobile payment solution to China. The report is based on comments made by Joseph Tsai, Alibaba’s executive vice chairman, who confirmed that the two companies are negotiating a deal but did not provide any specifics.

Alibaba already has its own payment platform called Alipay, and an agreement with Apple could see the two payment solutions integrate in some way in the Chinese market.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, has also stated publicly that Alibaba is interested in partnering with Apple on a mobile payments solution.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.