Tech giant Apple will launch its mobile payment system Apple Pay in China by early February, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the discussions, the newspaper says Apple has reached agreement with China’s four state-run banks to clear the way for the payment system to be used via its iPhone smartphones.

The move will place it in direct competition with local online payment platform Alipay, run by Alibaba Group, and its affiliated company Ant Financial, and UnionPay, the state run monopoly credit card system.

But while the banks are on board, the Wall Street Journal claims Apple may yet face more hurdles before it can launch the service, with banking and eCommerce regulations overseen by a number of government agencies.