Xiaomi unveils Mi Pay mobile payment service

Mobile payment options are plentiful these days, but Xiaomi still sees space for one more. The company has just unveiled its own Mi Pay platform, which is another NFC based payment system that will go head to head with Android Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and services offered by some banking apps.

Currently, Mi Pay is only available for the company’s Mi 5 flagship and supports a limited number of Chinese banks. So far the list includes China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, Huaxia Bank, Minsheng Bank, Ping An Bank, and Industrial Bank. Xiaomi has confirmed that support for the Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank, China Everbright Bank, Beijing Bank, and Guangdong Development Bank will be added next month.

Just like other mobile payment systems, users can assign credit and debit cards to Mi Pay to make contactless payments with. Xiaomi’s system also works with some loyalty, gift, and membership cards.

A selection of Xiaomi smartphones already have NFC technology baked into them, so the company may issue Mi Pay updates to other devices in the future. Furthermore, there’s now a good chance that the company’s upcoming smartphones, such as the Redmi 4 and Mi Note 2, will come with Mi Pay ready to go out of the box.

In addition to its new mobile payment platform, Xiaomi also unveiled its Mi Washing Machine, as part of the company’s ever expanding home appliance range. Of course, the washer can be controlled by a companion Mi app and offers customers 14 different laundry modes to chose from. As we’ve come to expect from Xiaomi, the washing machine is very competitively priced at just CNY 1,499 ($225).