Several reports indicate that Apple has plans to expand their electronic pay service in China. Some sources even say that the tech company is hoping to have Apple Pay working in China by Feb 8, which coincides with the beginning of the country's Spring Holiday.

Apple Inc. had several talks with eight different banks since last year, but things didn't seem to be always peachy. In the end, if reports are to be believed, Apple Inc. is said to have been able to convince only four big state-run banks in China to partner with them for their Apple Pay service in Beijing.

The banks involved are the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank. Having bank partners means that Apple Inc. just now needs to work their way into China's bureaucratic system and have regulatory approvals. This is the only barrier left for Apple to launch.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company is determined to get their services established in the China as soon as possible, for the country is the largest market for electronic payments. The success of their payment system can give the company the boost that will make them more established in that field.

But it could prove a bit hard for the Cupertino tech firm since there are a lot of competitors to fend off. One major company is the state run UnionPay which has been monopolizing the processing of card and debit card payments that had MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. locked out of the country.

Mobile wallets, Alipay and Tenpay are Apple's other competitor in the private sector. According to recent reports, the former which is run by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd holds 45% share of the second quarter while the later run by Tencent Holdings Ltd got almost 19%.

But that can still be changed as reports states that the tech firm has been trying to talk UnionPay into signing a deal with them starting last year. So far, the talks between the two companies have not stabilized yet.

Meanwhile, it can also be noted that last year, Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack Ma said in an interview that their company is willing to join hands with Apple as long as the partnership provides both companies what they want. It is not clear though if they are engaged in any negotiations with the said firm.

Apple Pay was first introduced last year in the US followed by a launch in the UK. Earlier this month, the company has also launched Apple Pay in Canada then followed by Australia. The tech firm also recently inked deals to have their service in Spain, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Apple Pay is the company's mobile payment service which enables consumers to make payments online or in-store using only their iPhones, iPads and even Apple Watches with a fingerprint sensor.