After similar moves by Apple, Samsung and Google in 2016-17 and WeChat just weeks ago, Huawei announced last week the launch of its contactless payment service in Russia.
Huawei Pay defines itself as “a mobile payment and digital wallet service that digitizes and can replace a credit or debit card” at contactless-capable payment terminals. The service is accessible only via selected Huawei and Honor smartphones.
The UnionPay cardholders of Gazprombank and Russian Agricultural Bank will be the first to experience the Huawei Pay service, which will be accessible across Russia in early 2019.
Russia is the second country where Huawei Pay has been made available.
The first country was China, where Huawei Pay launched in August 2016.
In January 2018, Huawei and UnionPay jointly agreed to develop and promote Huawei Pay internationally. They consider their entry to the Russian market to be “an important milestone” in this strategy, “laying a solid foundation for a broader global layout in the future.”
Russia is also important in UnionPay’s own strategy. As of September 2018, over 10 banks in Russia had issued more than 1.5 million UnionPay cards. The Chinese company expects to reach 100% acceptance in Russia this year. UnionPay’s contactless payment is getting traction too, with over 1 million Russian POS terminals accepting its mobile QuickPass.
According to a 2018 survey by Mediascope, a significant fraction of the Russian population uses contactless payment systems. Thus, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay are used at least once every six months by 12.3%, 16.5% and 18.7% of Russians from 18 to 55 years of age, respectively.
