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Xiaomi's new Mi Pay only works with one phone

The smartphone maker has launched a contactless payment system that supports public transportation and banks, but only in China for now.

Aloysius Low Senior Editor
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
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Aloysius Low

Fresh from rolling out a new robot vacuum, Xiaomi today announced a new contactless payment system for its home market in China. The catch? It really only works on one of its phones, the Xia​omi Mi 5.

That's because the Mi 5 is really the only phone in Xiaomi's lineup that supports NFC. It's likely Xiaomi took NFC out of newer models as a cost-cutting measure, as earlier phones like the Mi 3 had it.

The newly launched Mi Pay currently supports credit and debit cards from 20 banks, as well as public transportation cards from six cities across China. If you live in markets such as Hong Kong or India where Xiaomi is present, don't hold your hopes up for Mi Pay to come your way.

"We don't have global rollout plans currently," said a Xiaomi spokesperson to CNET.