Banks including China's biggest lender the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China are among the first wave to offer the service to their customers.

Apple has 19 of China's largest banks as partners, meaning that around 80% of China's credit and debit cards are eligible for the service.

Unlike in some other markets, Apple does not plan to compete with domestic banks in China.

But the company could still face an uphill struggle competing against the likes of established local services, according to Worldpay chief product officer for global e-commerce Kevin Dallas.

“It will be interesting to see how Apple Pay fares against the likes of Samsung Pay, which is also due to launch in China this year, as well as against well established players like Alipay and Tenpay,” he said.

“Apple’s offering support both in store and in app mobile payments, but for their part Alipay and Tenpay have been winning over Chinese customers for years. Time will tell who will come out on top, but there’s no doubt the country’s mobile payments space is now bigger and more competitive than ever.”

Telecomasia.net