China Unicom

China Unicom is to to use Gemalto's UpTeq NFC SIM to secure the Unicom Merchants' Bank mobile wallet it is rolling out in conjuction with China Merchants Bank (CMB). The NFC wallet enables consumers to... More

China Mobile, the country's largest mobile operator, has reached agreements with subway and bus companies in 30 cities to allow users to make payments through mobile phones next year, reports Caixin Online. Pilot programs will... More

The bank and mobile network operator plan to follow the introduction of the Unicom Merchants Bank mobile wallet service in Shanghai with a national rollout that could ultimately make the service available to all 43 million of the bank's credit card customers. More

The world's largest mobile network operator is to collaborate with national payments network China UnionPay, in a deal set to lead to the introduction of NFC services in up to one hundred Chinese cities. More

The mobile network operators have signed up to support and implement SIM-based NFC in a move the GSMA says will "promote the global interoperability of services and accelerate time-to-market". More

More than US$8bn in transactions could be conducted in China using NFC phones by 2014, according to Mobile Payments in China, a new report by ABI Research. In 2010, 45,000 NFC handsets were shipped in... More

The GSMA has issued a statement outlining a commitment by leading global mobile network operators — many of whom have not previously been involved in NFC — to launch commercial services in 2012. "The operator community is focused on driving the standardised deployment of mobile NFC, using the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability," says the announcement.  More

Customers can now use their mobile phones to make payments on public transport services and at more than 2,000 other businesses by swapping their standard SIM for an NFC SIM+antenna device supplied by Watchdata. More

China's second largest mobile network operator is preparing to launch commercial NFC services in four cities from next month, according to reports in the Chinese media. Commuters in Beijing will be able to make payments using either an NFC phone or an add-on to their existing phone. More

China Unicom has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). The deal is expected to see the bank and the mobile operator working together to introduce a wide range of new... More

A strategic cooperation agreement signed by the mobile network operator and the Chongqing Municipal Government aims to turn the region into a $7bn a year world leader in NFC manufacturing by 2015. More

Despite pressure from regulators to drop its RF SIM technology, China's largest mobile network operator says it will continue to push ahead with its RF SIM deployment while, at the same time, also exploring options for delivering solutions compatible with the NFC technology being adopted by Chinese banks. More

The Chinese bank and mobile network operator are to launch a commercial NFC service that lets consumers make payments with NFC phones supporting the Single Wire Protocol — using a prepaid account that can be topped up over-the-air from the customer's bank account. More

The Beijing branch of mobile network operator China Unicom has launched an NFC service in conjunction with Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card Co (BMAC). BMAC operates the Yikatong card, a contactless stored value card... More

China's largest mobile network operator is coming under pressure from MIIT, the national technology regulator, to join the Chinese banks and its two rival operators China Unicom and China Telecom in adopting a single, national mobile payments standard based on NFC standard technology.  More

OPINION: News from Turkey, France and China this week indicates that the NFC market is now beginning to gather pace around the world, as both mobile network operators and banks in more and more countries commit to working together to make near field communication based services a reality. More

Eighteen Chinese banks, card association China UnionPay, China Telecom, China Unicom and a range of handset manufacturers and industry suppliers have formed an alliance in a bid to create standards and a business model for the introduction of a single, open platform that can be used by businesses throughout China to offer NFC and mobile payments services. More

China Mobile is considering adding support for NFC, as well as for its own RF SIM technology, to its mobile payments service, the company has told reporters. Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting reports that: An industry source... More

The bank card association is conducting NFC pilots in Shanghai, Ningbo and Changsha and has extended its mobile payments services to a total of six provinces and regions. More

China Mobile has agreed to pay $5.8 billion for a 20% stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPD Bank), making the mobile network operator the second largest shareholder in the bank. Shareholders in China Mobile... More