Consumers in China can now make purchases on Apple’s App Store using UnionPay credit and debit cards.

Users with an Apple ID simply need to link their accounts to their UnionPay cards.

Two months ago Apple was rumoured to have worked out an agreement with UnionPay to jointly launch mobile payments in China, with many speculating the deal would cover Apple Pay, which is currently only available in the US.

Apple recently reached the deal with UnionPay, a state-owned bankcard association approved by the central bank to provide clearing services for bankcard transactions. Because of its near monopoly, it issues almost all bankcards in the country.

But that monopoly is likely to end soon. The government said last month it plans to open the market for domestic bankcard transactions to foreign banks and card companies, which will be able to set up their own clearing companies, the South China Morning Post reported.

No specific dates were given, but the move would put other platforms – like Alibaba’s Alipay – on more equal footing to compete with UnionPay, which is owned by a consortium of mainland banks and the central bank.