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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 <GOOGL.O> Android
mobile operating system, which runs on handsets including those
of Xiaomi. The next version will be compatible with Apple Inc's
<AAPL.O> iOS.
The encrypted link will avoid potential security pitfalls of
near-field communications (NFC) wireless technology, which has
been criticized 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.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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