Mastercard-branded credit cards issued in mainland China are set to start working with Apple Pay on April 16, with support already confirmed by Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, CITIC Bank, and SPD Bank.
One of the clearest launch promotions comes from Bank of China. Under that campaign, users who add an eligible Mastercard credit card issued in mainland China to Apple Wallet and make qualifying purchases outside mainland China through the Mastercard clearing network can receive cashback equal to 100% of the transaction amount, capped at the equivalent of $5 per purchase.
The promotion runs from April 16 through June 30, 2026. Each eligible credit card can take part up to three times during the campaign period, and the total reward pool is capped at $60,000 per month.
Bank of China says cardholders can complete the setup in two ways. They can open the bank app, go to More, then Payment, then Apple Pay, and follow the prompts to add the card. They can also search for Apple Pay directly inside the app and enter the card-binding page from there.
The rollout gives Apple Pay users in China a broader way to use international card rails inside Apple Wallet, while also giving participating banks a timely incentive to push Mastercard activation for overseas spending.
According to the source, adding a Mastercard to Apple Pay requires an iPhone running iOS 17.0 or later, or an Apple Watch running watchOS 10.0 or above.
