Tencent to expand WeChat's payment reach to 20 countries

Hao Zhujing, an analyst at the Beijing-based Internet consultancy Analysys International, said the intensified push by Internet companies will pit them against China UnionPay, the country's largest bank card processing provider.

"Mobile payment services are more popular in China than in other countries. Thanks to the popularity of online-to-offline catering and movie ticketing, a large number of Chinese consumers are getting used to making payments via smartphones," Hao said.

"This will give Alibaba and Tencent an advantage in eating into the overseas market share of UnionPay," she said.

But Hao also warned that the attraction of mobile payment platforms will hinge upon their penetration rates.

By the end of last year, UnionPay had a presence in more than 150 countries, with more than 13 million stores accepting consumer payments through bank cards issued by the company.

Sandy Shen, research director at Internet consultancy Gartner Inc, agreed. "Though Alibaba and Tencent have been working with overseas retailers for some time, retail store usage is still low as there are no obvious benefits of using Alipay and WeChat while credit cards can often give discounts."