Xiaomi, Huawei, and ZTE are all said to be planning their own Apple Pay competitor

Shortly after Apple launched its mobile payments service Apple Pay in China, there are reports that the iPhone maker's competitors in country are planning to release their own payments service. The revelation was made by IHS Analyst Kevin Wang, who named Xiaomi, Huawei, and ZTE in a Weibo post.

It's not that Apple Pay doesn't have any competition in China - there are mobile payment companies like WeChat Payment and Alipay from Alibaba Group that are already established in the world's biggest smartphone market. However, Apple is currently the only smartphone vendor offering such a service there.

Despite coming from a well-known analyst, the news still falls in the category of rumors as it's yet to be officially confirmed by any of the companies Wang named. However, given that Xiaomi is said to be bringing back NFC support in its upcoming Mi 5 flagship despite dropping it from the Mi 4 citing low usage, the rumor does seem to carry some weight.

Nevertheless, a rumor remains a rumor until it is officially confirmed, and till then it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Via