Xiaomi Announces Mobile Payment Service Called ‘Mi Pay’

Following in the footsteps of its bigger, more universally recognized rivals Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi has introduced its very own payment service.

To help accomplish this new venture, Xiaomi has enlisted the help of UnionPay, the most popular payment service used throughout China.

Currently, Mi Pay will be accessible for debt and credit card holders within 20 domestic banks in China.

The app comes integrated with a finger print scanner and can hold up to about 8 cards per Xiaomi user.

The Mi Pay app is powered by NFC, and can be used for public transportation trips to several cities in China according to Xiaomi.

“After cooperating with China UnionPay over the past three years, Xiaomi is now truly excited about our joint partnership to launch Mi Pay. We believe that Mi Pay will be a key driving force in promoting the development of China’s mobile payments industry, and deliver much more convenience to our users,”Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said.

Currently, the service is only available in China and currently only accessible on Xiaomi Mi 5, however, is expected to be available on other Xiaomi devices in the near future.

In recent days, Xiaomi has been experienced stern competition from Huawei and newcomers like LeEco.

As such, Xiaomi lost its spot at the peak of handset manufacturers. Though hitting a mark of 70 million units sold, the company failed to reach its target of 100 million.