Xiaomi has launched a new budget smartphone, the Redmi Note 3, which features a rear-mouted fingerprint sensor, and which is significant as it marks the company's first entry into the mobile payments market. The phone will be available in India on June 30 for Rs 12,999 ($150), while its international launch date was set to coincide with the US release of Apple's iPhone 6 later this month. The smartphone can also be used as a complimentary service to the existing Mi Wallet service, which offers a huge range of mobile payment and banking features; however, the Mi Wallet is yet to be fully rolled out to all users.
Xiaomi has launched a new budget smartphone, the Redmi Note 3, which features a rear-mouted fingerprint sensor, and which is significant as it marks the company's first entry into the mobile payments market. Xiaomi is reported to have a hugely loyal and engaged community of users in China, which puts the company in a strong position to fight Apple Pay, the new competitor that will arrive in the market in February 2016. The smartphone can also be used as a complimentary service to the existing Mi Wallet service, which offers a huge range of mobile payment and banking features; however, the Mi Wallet is yet to be fully rolled out to all users.