Apple Pay will roll out to China UnionPay cardholders in early 2016. Apple has clinched a deal with China’s state-owned bankcard association, China UnionPay, to launch Apple Pay in the country.

Customers in China who have China UnionPay debit or credit cards can now make online payments through the Apple Pay mobile-payment service. However, Apple Pay will be launched in China after the certification and testing conducted by regulators for approval, reports CNet.

“China is an extremely important market for Apple, and with China UnionPay and support from 15 of China’s leading banks, users will soon have a convenient, private and secure payment experience,” Apple’s head of Internet software and services Eddy Cue said.

According to The Statistics Portal, the worldwide mobile payment volume in 2015 is US$431.1 billion (AU$600.98 billion), which is expected to grow to US$721.4 billion (AU$1005.67) by 2017. Apple’s alliance with UnionPay is part of this extension plan to contribute more to the mobile payment market.

Union Pay’s executive vice president Chai Hongfeng said that the company is excited about offering convenient and secured mobile payment experiences to its millions of cardholders, reports BBC. The joint partnership between China UnionPay and Apple will help UnionPay cardholders add their bank cards to Apple Pay using their iPads, iPhones and Apple Watches.

Customers can also now use their iPhone 6, iPhone 6S or Apple Watch to pay for any items by using the near-field communication (NFC) wireless technology.

Meanwhile, Samsung Pay, which was launched in South Korea in August, is now available in the US. The service allows users to purchase any item using their Samsung phones or Gear S2 smartwatch. Samsung Pay works for Galaxy Note 5, S6, S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ smartphones.

Samsung Pay uses Magnetic Secure Transmission technology. Customers need to hold their phones near any card swipe reader to allow Samsung Pay in their mobile to sync with their payment card.

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