中国向境外机构开放支付系统，或将推动支付宝与苹果联姻

    在在线支付领域，马云并没有受到银联的管控，因为这块蛋糕太大了。研究公司iResearch的数据显示，去年中国在线支付的总额达到9,000亿美元，其中几乎一半都是通过支付宝完成的。

    马云著名之处，在于他总能快政府一到两步，却不会越线。其中一个例子是他在2004年创立了支付宝在线支付系统，并与200家银行签约，一举打破了银联的垄断。与苹果支付的合作似乎会是另一个成功案例。这次合作起初意义不大，但随着中国政府宣布将放开支付领域的限制，因而减少了银联对市场和支付宝的影响力，情况就大不同了。这一规定究竟将如何实施仍有待观察，但一夜之间，银联对支付宝的影响大大减少了。

    马云似乎在官方发布消息之前就已经知道政策即将变化，因此才提出了和苹果支付合作的建议。阿里巴巴（Alibaba）的发言人拒绝对此发表评论。

    即便中国政府有意让外国银行卡公司甚至支付宝都进入市场，但它们要成长到足以同银联竞争仍需要好几年时间。后者已经与成千上万家超市、餐厅和商铺签订了合作协议。

    位于北京的弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester）副总裁王平表示，支付宝要达成这一合作仍存在障碍。他表示：“高大上的iPhone 6用户想要在百货商场买点东西，结果店员说：‘对不起，我们不支持支付宝’——这可能不是苹果想要带给顾客的体验。”

    就进入中国的问题，苹果首先选择与银联展开对话。但磋商的进展十分缓慢。到目前为止，苹果支付功能仍然未能在中国的iPhone上启用。据财新报道，双方仍在洽谈。

    马云和苹果公司的潜在合作可能与中国关系不大。Counterpoint Research公司的尼尔•沙哈负责研究中国的移动市场，他表示：“阿里巴巴想做的，可能是进入美国巨大的线下零售市场。作为回报，阿里巴巴的在线产品将植入苹果支付功能，借此将其从苹果应用商店带入中国的在线零售商店。”

    苹果并不是非得和支付宝合作不可，而支付宝也不是“非君不嫁”。但至少，双方可能的合作方式现在变得更明晰了。（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    Jack Ma stopped short of submitting to UnionPay’s rules when it came to online payments, however, because the stakes were too big. Alipay handled almost half the $900 billion online payments in China last year, according to iResearch.

    Jack Ma is known for staying a step or two ahead of the government without creating feuds. The way he sidestepped UnionPay’s monopoly in the mid-2000s by setting up Alipay’s online system with 200 banks is one example. Teaming up with Apple Pay looks like another. A partnership made little sense until China’s government announced it was opening up payments for everyone, which reduces UnionPay’s influence on the market and on Alipay. It remains to be seen how the rules will be implemented, but overnight UnionPay’s has less sway over Alipay.

    Ma’s suggestion of an Apple Pay partnership, knowing a policy change would help it advance, looks prescient. An Alibaba spokeswoman declined comment.

    Even though China’s government is intent on allowing foreigner card companies, and by extension Alipay, into the market, it will be years before any build scale to compete with UnionPay, which has tens of thousands of agreements with stores, restaurants, and shops.

    Forrester vice president Bryan Wang in Beijing sees a potential Alipay agreement as a hedge. “The high-end iPhone 6 user wants to buy something at a department store, and they say, ‘Sorry we don’t accept Alipay—that’s probably not the experience Apple want to bring customers,” he says.

    The first conversations Apple had about coming to China happened with UnionPay. But the negotiations have been slow to form. For now, Apple Pay is deactivated on iPhones sold in China. Caixin has reported that negotiations are still advancing.

    It may be that the potential tie up between Jack Ma and Apple has little to do with China. “What Alibaba may be trying to do is…gain entry into the huge U.S. offline retail market and in return integrate Apple Pay into Alibaba’s online footprint from app stores to online retail stores in China,” says Neil Shah, who tracks the China mobile market for Counterpoint Research.

    Apple doesn’t need Alipay and Alipay doesn’t need Apple. But at least now it’s clearer how they would work together.