NFC Times Exclusive – As if Samsung doesn’t have enough problems, NFC Times has learned that China UnionPay is having a hard time forgiving the device maker for adding support for UnionPay rival Alipay in its Samsung Pay wallet in China.
The result has been what looks to be an effective freeze on new Chinese banks participating in Samsung Pay with their credit or debit cards since May, when Samsung announced that it would also enable consumers to pay with Alipay from the wallet, in addition to UnionPay-backed banks. NFC Times reported in July that UnionPay was angered by the deal, for which Samsung did not give it a heads-up.