iOS 11.4 rumors have been making the rounds on Japanese social media. One screenshot in particular suggests Apple Pay will continue the rollout of China Express Transit card support for Jiangsu, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Chongqing. China Express Transit cards use the same specifications and are similar in concept to the Japanese IC Transit Network (Suica, PASMO, etc).
What’s interesting is that a centralized cloud infrastructure seems to be in place for China transit cards to support smartphone loading and recharge for Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung and now Apple. The lack of a centralized and shared cloud infrastructure is exactly what has been keeping everything outside of Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, TOICA and other Japanese IC transit cards, from adding smartphone support.
UPDATE: the iOS 11.4 update did not add more China transit cards to Apple Pay. Also check out the comparison of China Express Transit with Suica Express Transit.
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