In another sign Apple Pay is finding tough footing in China, the tech giant is allowing its voice-command technology to work in Alipay, the dominant payment app in the country.
Alipay users can tell Apple's Siri to open the Alipay payment screen rather than doing so manually, according to
Operating through QR code technology rather than the Near Field Communication model of Apple Pay and other competitors,
Apple has made moves to acknowledge Alipay's dominance in the market, announcing two months ago it had established a partnership with Alibaba Financial affiliate Alibaba to accept Alipay payments in the Apple stores in China.
Rumors about Apple and Alibaba working together on various aspects of mobile commerce have swirled for the past five years, based in part on
Allowing Siri to operate on the Alipay platform is considered a departure for Apple, which up to now has kept its operating technology close to its vest, while still embracing the concept of app developers working in an open Apple network.
