According to reports, US tech biggie Apple's mobile payment system 'Apple Pay' is scheduled for launch in mainland China this week.

The reported move will mark the debut of the Apple Pay mobile payment system in the Asian electronic-payment market. The Apple Pay system was launched by Apple in the US in 2014; and has subsequently been expanded to the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Hinting at the forthcoming launch of the Apple Pay system in China, an unidentified source familiar with Apple's plans has revealed that the Apple Pay service will become available to customers in mainland China with effect from Thursday, February 18.

The source has also disclosed that, for the launch of the Apple Payment service in mainland China, Apple has partnered with UnionPay, which has a strong grip on bank-card payments in the country. Moreover, other than UnionPay, Apple has also signed Apple Pay-related deals with 19 banks in China.

However, so far as Apple's financial arrangements for the Apple Pay system in China are concerned, there has been no official disclosure by the company thus far. Nonetheless, for the sake of reference, Apple Pay financial arrangements in the US enable Apple to take a 0.15% share of all credit-card transactions made via the mobile payment platform, and 0.5 cent per debit transaction.