Just a day after announcing that it had signed a deal with Powa Technologies to bring the firms mobile payments and mCommerce technology to its market, Chinas only credit card provider has unveiled partnerships with Apple and Samsung which will give Chinese consumers a chance to pick from a variety of mobile payment providers.

UnionPay is a state-controlled payments company and is the sole credit and debit card issuer in the country, meaning that any partnerships with the firm provide access to every single Chinese consumer.

The move will see Apple Pay and Samsung Pay join PowaTag in taking on Tencents WeChat Payment and Alibabas Alipay in the eCommerce market, and more importantly will bring a variety of mobile payment options to the more than 500m smartphone users in China.

Apple Pay will roll out to China UnionPay cardholders early in 2016, following relevant tests and certification by Chinese regulations to ensure the product meets Chinas own national mobile payment and financial industry standards.

“Apple Pay has revolutionised the way millions of people pay every day with their iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of internet software and services at Apple. “China is an extremely important market for Apple and with China UnionPay and support from 15 of Chinas leading domestic banks, users will soon have a convenient, secure and private payment experience.”

Samsung Pay is also targeting the beginning of 2016 for its rollout in China, although the announcement has not made it clear if the companys Magnetic Secure Transmission technology, which enables smartphone users to make contactless payments on non-NFC point-of-sale devices, will be available to Chinese consumers.

“With technology innovation, Samsung Pay expands the use of mobile payment,” said InJong Rhee, executive vice president of Samsung. “It simplifies the procedure for better user experience, and adopts multi-layered protection to ensure security, allow easier and safer mobile payment experience. The collaboration with China UnionPay, coupled with the supprt from major UnionPay partner banks in China, will bring this secure and easy-to-use mobile payment solution to more Samsung mobile users.”