Use of Alipay app's fingerprint function extended to iPhone users

Alipay, the e-payment arm of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, rolled out on Tuesday the latest version of its mobile application, which allows iPhone users to make mobile payments with fingerprints rather than passwords.

Analysts said that the move is not only a win-win cooperation for both Alipay and iPhone, but also an indicator of a potential alliance between Alipay, China's largest e-payment solution provider, and Apple Pay, the mobile payment service of tech giant Apple Inc.

According to a release issued by Alipay, users of iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be able to activate their fingerprint payment function as soon as they upgrade the Alipay Wallet app to version 8.4.