A man holds an iPhone 6s Plus as the Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus go on sale at an Apple Store in Los Angeles, California September 25, 2015. REUTERS/JONATHAN ALCORN
A man holds an iPhone 6s Plus as the Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus go on sale at an Apple Store in Los Angeles, California September 25, 2015. Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn

Apple may soon go head to head with PayPal if the company pushes through with person-to-person (P2P) mobile payment. Speculations have been surfacing on Apple's new venture on top of its ongoing efforts to make Apple Pay accessible across the globe.

There have been speculations about Apple testing the waters for person-to-person (P2P) mobile payment. This should not be surprising anymore, as the company filed a patent with similar mobile payment features. According to The Motley Fool, it would be an unwise decision if Apple will not explore its own offering. Although the P2P payment industry is already crowded, PayPal may be threatened once a major player like Apple comes in.

PayPal's Venmo P2P payment service earned US$2.1 billion (AU$2.89) in mobile payments. This is US$700 million (AU$962.40) more from what it earned in the previous year. This is incremental growth and proof of Venmo's position in the P2P payment industry. Apple's key advantage over PayPal lies in its iPhone users. The company is not yet in the game but it has more than a hundred million iPhone users with at least one third already compatible with Apple Pay. Apple also has the advantage because its Apple Pay app is also pre-loaded into millions of iPhones, iPads and even the Apple Watch.

Not to mention, the company is continuing its efforts to bring Apple Pay to more countries. According to Wall Street Journal, the tech giant is looking to launch Apple Pay in China around February 2016. Apple has inked a deal recently with big four state-run banks in China. This suggests that Apple Pay users may link the app to local bank services and products.

Nonetheless, Apple will still need to overcome regulatory hurdles in the country. People familiar on the matter said that there are a number of government agencies overseeing banking and e-commerce in China. Apple will need to pass checking from these agencies if it wants to push through with Apple Pay's launch. According the sources, Apple wants to launch the app around Feb. 8, in time for China’s Spring Festival holiday.

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