Apple to launch Apple Pay in China, take on Alibaba, Tencent (Reuters)

Apple Inc said it will launch its payment service in China as soon as 2016, pitting it against entrenched Chinese rivals Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings. Apple will partner with China’s main bank card and payment firm UnionPay, a state-controlled consortium that has a monopoly on all yuan payment cards issued and used in the country. 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.