Category: Featured News

Banks have relatively low interest in Apple Pay

Apple is running into trouble with the expansion of its mobile payments service, Apple Pay. The company has been trying to convince the world’s largest banks to support the service, but the banks have shown relatively little interest. Apple is looking to launch Apple Pay in China in the coming year, but financial institutions have yet to be dazzled by the mobile payments service. Banks in other countries are showing similar disinterest, as well, slowing the expansion of Apple Pay considerably.

Australian banks have yet to show any strong support for Apple’s mobile payments service

Last month, Apple did manage to launch its mobile payments service in Australia, with the aid of American Express. While Apple Pay has come to Australia, it has yet to acquire the support of the country’s four largest banks, ANZ, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac. These banks represent an estimated 80% of consumers in the country that are already using mobile payments systems.

Banks have already established a foothold in the mobile payments market

Australian banks seem uninterested in Apple Pay because they have already done all the work to make mobile payments available in the country/ As such, some of these banks may see Apple as looking to come in and take advantage of a market that has already been established. Australian consumers have had access to a wide range of mobile payments services for some time, most of which have managed to acquire the support of the country’s banks.

Apple continues to face significant competition

Apple has overcome many challenges in the mobile payments space in the past, but without support from banks, Apple Pay may find relatively little traffic in promising markets. When Apple Pay launches in other countries, it will be facing significant competition from other companies that are involved in the mobile payments space, some of whom have already established a significant foothold in several markets. Considering the interest that iOS users have in mobile payments, however, Apple may be able to find success even if banks are relatively wary.

The tech giant from China is taking aim at gamers and doesn’t plan to slow down any time soon.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. has already grabbed hold of the top spot when it comes to being the leader in the mobile games category in China, but now it is stepping outside its home borders and is aiming to lead the way throughout other marketplaces, as well.

The company intends to start exporting games made in China into the United States and other markets.

In order to accomplish this goal, Tencent is working with San Francisco mobile games publisher, Glu Mobile Inc. Back in April, Tencent purchased a considerable stake in that company and they will now be working together to bring “WeFire”, Tencent’s most successful shooting game app, into the United States as well as other Western countries in 2016. Another one of its games – though the name has not yet been revealed – will be taken into the Japanese market next year by way of Aiming Inc., a local mobile game publisher.

Should Tencent be successful in taking its mobile games into other countries, this could change the entire marketplace.

This will also provide Tencent with a powerful new avenue of growth as the current global mobile gaming marketplace is currently expected to grow to about $30.1 billion this year. That would mean that the figure would nearly have doubled since 2013, when it had been $17.6 billion. This, according to Newzoo research firm statistics.

The WeFire game app from Tencent is currently the most successful shooting game in China. Now it will be brought to the U.S. and other countries in order to go up against the top games in those markets. When a top grossing game reaches a leading spot in a specific market, it can bring in over $1 billion in revenue. However, when it becomes a global sensation, that figure can rise to $3 billion or even $4 billion, said the chief exec of the Kabam Inc. U.S. mobile game company, Kevin Chou.

That company intends to step into the mobile games market in China, next year. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, a massive rival to Tencent, has a minority stake in Kabam.