Apple Pay has begun rolling out across China, letting consumers pay in-store with compatible Apple devices using their China UnionPay credit and debit cards at QuickPass-enabled POS terminals and make purchases within participating mobile apps.

The mobile payment service is launching with support from 19 of the country’s card issuers including China CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Beijing, ICBC and China Minsheng Bank.

Retailers accepting Apple Pay for in-store payments include supermarket Carrefour, fast food restaurants McDonald’s and Burger King, as well as branches of 7-Eleven and KFC in Beijing.

However, Apple may have fallen victim to its own success as many users are having difficulty registering payment cards. “Apple spokesman Cong Jie said the problem was due to too many people trying to sign up,” reports Caixin Online.

Largest market

The planned launch of Apple Pay in China in partnership with China UnionPay was announced in December 2015, alongside confirmation that the bank card association would also work with Samsung to support the roll out of Samsung Pay in the country.

“We think China could be our largest Apple Pay market,” Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, told Reuters in an interview in Beijing.

Apple has faced delays in launching Apple Pay in China, with reports in November 2015 that the mobile payment service would not be launching in the country until the end of 2016. News that Apple Pay had “hit bumps” in China first emerged in February last year.

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