Apple and Samsung have seperately agreed to partner with and China UnionPay to bring their respective mobile payment systems to China. China UnionPay cardholders will be able to add their bank cards to Apple Pay on iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad, providing convenience and security to everyday shopping.

China UnionPay’s QuickPass and Apple Pay together will protect customer payment information through payment tokenization technology. When you add a credit or debit card, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and stored in a dedicated chip called the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is also authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

Paying is simple with the touch of a finger and can happen in one motion. In stores, there’s no need to open an app or wake your display. With the NFC antenna design, simply hold iPhone near China UnionPay’s QuickPass-enabled POS terminals with your finger on Touch ID to pay. With Apple Watch, double click the side button and hold the watch face up to the contactless reader to make a purchase right from your wrist.

Apple Pay will roll out to China UnionPay cardholders as soon as early 2016 after relevant tests and certification required by Chinese regulators, with the service itself in compliance with the applicable national mobile payment and financial industry standards in China.

In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. When paying within apps, Apple Pay is compatible with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro.

The move will see Apple Pay take on Tencent's WeChat Payment and Alipay, the crown jewel of ecommerce king Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial, the top player in China's fast-growing online payments market.

Samsung Electronics has also reached a separate agreement with China UnionPay to introduce their mobile payments systems in the country next year.

This collaboration between Samsung and China UnionPay will enable UnionPay cardholders to manage and use credit cards and debit cards on the smartphones via Samsung Pay. Key features of Samsung Pay include its simplicity to use, wide coverage, as well as a high-level of security. First, payment can be easily made within just a few seconds with a swipe up, scan and pay. Second, Samsung Pay-supported contactless payment can be accepted in most of the POS terminals in China, including QuickPass-enabled NFC POS terminals. Lastly, working with China UnionPay, Samsung Pay ensures secure transaction with a triple-layered protection mechanism including fingerprint identification, tokenization and KNOX.

China, the world's second-largest economy, is one of Apple's most important markets for iPhone and tablet sales, but until now the firm has been kept out of its online payments market.