NFC Times Exclusive Insight –  Apple has been quietly taking more steps toward a launch of Apple Pay in China, registering a local company in Shanghai and hiring at least two top former Visa China staffers, including the former country manager.

The embedded chips in the new iPhones to be released later this month in China support the domestic payment standard, PBOC 3.0, a source told NFC Times. This would enable a Quick Pass contactless application supported by the country's dominant payments network, state-owned China UnionPay. As NFC Times reported in July, negotiations were continuing between Apple and UnionPay, as well as banks, after talks earlier hit roadblocks, likely over Apple’s business model, among other issues. Now some observers in China believe there will be an Apple Pay launch in early 2016.

Apple registered a local company called Apple Technology Service (Shanghai) Ltd., June 10th, in a free trade zone of Shanghai, according to the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Bureau, as was reported by official Chinese media and other outlets Friday. Among the new company’s areas of operation, according to the filing, was systems integration for payments, said a report. Apple reportedly registered capital of $13.4 million for the local entity.