Trade-in program for iPhone to start in March

Recognizing the need for a local partner, Apple has already initiated talks with China Union Pay, which has helped set NFC standards and initiated a secure platform for banks to load card holder's account information into NFC-enabled phones.

Online media group Caixin reported earlier this year that Apple was also meeting with Alipay to discuss an alternative payment method using Apple's fingerprint verification technology.

While NFC largely addresses the need to pay in an offline scenario, successful penetration depends on the NFC service providers' ability to get merchants to accept NFC payment, Shen says.

A partnership with Union Pay would allow Apple to take advantage of the massive offline efforts Union Pay has already made, such as deals with merchants and NFC-compatible POS machines.

But even though Apple's brand appeal should be a big attraction, analysts are not so optimistic about their ability to attract mobile payment users.

Almost six months after Apple Pay was fully launched in the United States, 85 percent of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users said they have never used Apple Pay. Of the 15 percent that actually used it, nine percent say they only experimented with the service, according to a survey from InfoScout.

"NFC payment has a higher requirement for hardware than software-based solutions such as QR code scanning, while we see growing opportunities for software-based mobile payment expanding at offline scenarios going forward, NFC will remain largely as a niche market." Shen said.