Beijing, Feb 18 (IANS): Shoppers in China can now use contact-less payment system Apple Pay to make purchases after US tech giant Apple and Chinese bank card association UnionPay launched the service on Thursday.

Users of the iPhone 6, iPads and Apple Watches will be able to use these devices, equipped with near field communication (NFC) technology, to buy items in stores in China, Apple's second-largest market, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearly 20 Chinese banks have let their customers tie their bank accounts to Apple Pay, and UnionPay has provided compatible point-of-sale (POS) terminals for users to complete the transactions.

McDonald's said on Thursday that it will accept the contact-less payment in 1,700 restaurants in China. Apple also lists Lane Crawford, 7-Eleven, Burger King, KFC among merchants already accepting Apple Pay in China.

Chinese restaurant review and group buying services Meituan and Dazhongdianping and online retailer Dangdang.com have also made Apple Pay-compatible versions of their apps available to iPhone users.

China UnionPay has previously worked with the country's three telecom operators to promote NFC-based mobile payment services in competition with the payment solutions offered by Alibaba and Tencent.