Which Way for Smartphone Swipe and Pay?

(Beijing) – An Apple fan in China willing to wait in a long queue for a newly arrived iPhone 6 may be in for a disappointment.

The Chinese version of the smartphone, which stores started selling October 17, is missing a snappy feature that is common in similar gadgets sold in the United States: the Apple Pay automatic payment system.

China UnionPay Co. Ltd., a state company that controls all debit and credit card services in the country, reportedly reached a deal with Apple Inc. to link its UnionPay cards with the Apple Pay feature. But it is not available yet. In fact, iPhone6 owners may have to wait until March to access the swipe-and-pay feature in China.