Chinese bank card provider China UnionPay, the only bank card available in China, is teaming with China Mobile Ltd, the state-owned telecommunications company, to create a mobile payment business using NFC technologies.

Given the scale of the Chinese market, and the fact that both companies have state-supported monopolies in their respective businesses, the new venture could become the largest NFC mobile payment scheme in the world.

According to a statement about the new deal, the two companies will collaborate on product development, technical standards, marketing and building out the necessary infrastructure. The project will rely on SIM cards distributed to China UnionPay account holders as form factors for holding and transmitting user data.

The companies plan to launch pilot programs in several cities around China and gradually roll the scheme out nationwhide.

China UnionPay's chairman, Su Ning, said the effort aims to address the rise of the mobile Internet and e-commerce, and to provide consumers with convenient and secure payment services.

For more stories like this, visit the Contactless/NFC research center.