Xiaomi and Alibaba Group Partner on Mobile Payments for Wearables

Xiaomi and Alibaba Group Partner on Mobile Payments for Wearables
Advertisement
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's finance arm and smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc said on Thursday they will jointly develop mobile payment systems using wearable technology, a first for China's major tech firms.

Xiaomi and Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate which includes China's most popular online payment service Alipay, will enable the Alipay Wallet mobile app to link with Xiaomi's Mi Band smart fitness bracelet. That will let users smooth the process of making payments, bypassing the need for passwords.

Although a small step for an emergent technology tipped to eventually replace wallets, the partnership marks a milestone in China where the function has thus far been more pipedream than reality.

The Alipay-Mi Band link will be made available on the current version of Alipay Wallet for Google Inc's Android mobile operating system, which runs on handsets including those of Xiaomi. The next version will be compatible with Apple Inc's iOS.

The encrypted link will avoid potential security pitfalls of near-field communications (NFC) wireless technology, which has been criticised for potential vulnerability to theft and cyber-attacks. Apple will use NFC to allow users to make payments on its Apple Watch, to be released this month, rather than on a phone.

© Thomson Reuters 2015

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Alibaba, Internet, Wearables, Xiaomi
Original Tomb Raider Game Now Available for Android
Samsung Galaxy S6 Beats HTC One M9, Nexus 6 in AnTuTu's Q1 2015 Benchmarks
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »