Apple Pay Launching In China As U.S. Adoption Stalls By Scalper1 | February 17, 2016 0 Comment Scalper1 News alt : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InternetTechnologyRss/~5/5DN7yezzLhs/Tech_021716_MobilePay_AAPL_GOOGL_BABA_TCEHY_FB_TSLA_sd.mp4http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InternetTechnologyRss/~5/5DN7yezzLhs/Tech_021716_MobilePay_AAPL_GOOGL_BABA_TCEHY_FB_TSLA_sd.mp4 Loading the player… Apple ( AAPL ) Pay will be available in China beginning this Thursday, with the consumer tech giant facing stiff mobile payment competition in the world’s largest smartphone market from Chinese Internet heavyweights Alibaba ( BABA ) and Tencent ( TCEHY ). Alibaba’s Alipay is China’s most popular online payment service, while Tencent has integrated payments into its WeChat mobile messaging app, much like Facebook ( FB ). And amid concerns of slowing iPhone sales, a new study says that U.S. adoption of Apple’s mobile payment platform has plateaued. First Annapolis, an electronic payments consultancy, says that some 20% of iPhone 6 owners report using Apple Pay at least once, while 15% say that they use it regularly or frequently. While awareness among iPhone 6 owners remains high at 84%, the usage figures are slightly down from last year. In the U.S., Apple faces competition from Samsung Pay and Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google’s Android Pay. Samsung Pay was launched last fall and works not only with NFC (near-field communication) terminals like the Apple and Android systems but also with magnetic stripe terminals and chip-card terminals, which could allow for wider adoption. Still, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said at the start of the year that Apple is “overwhelmingly the share leader” in point-of-sale mobile payments. He expects new features like peer-to-peer payments and in-browser integration to further boost adoption in 2016. Shares are looking to continue higher with a 1.2% gain Wednesday after jumping 3% in heavy volume Tuesday. Apple is still in a downtrend, a little less than 30% below its all-time high reached last April. Alphabet advanced 1.8%. Apple stock could also be getting a boost from reports on Tuesday that it received a car-related patent for a mobile device sensor to “determine when the user is in a vehicle that is driving.” The news has sparked new speculation that Apple — along with Google, Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) and others — is working on a self-driving car. Scalper1 News Scalper1 News Related posts: Tesla Stock Continues To Lose Spark, Tumbles To 2-Year Low 4 Top China Tech Stocks Rally Amid Bargain Hunting What Facebook’s Oculus, Google See In Virtual Reality’s Future This FANG Stock Just Tripped A Very Bearish Signal