Microsoft has rolled out a major update on their Windows Phone 8 platform.

This update is aimed at mobile users in China. They can now buy apps using local credit and debit cards.

In fact, Microsoft is also now supporting Alipay which is a local payment service similar to PayPal.

The company said:

A big aspect of this release is the introduction of new payment options available to customers in China. To date, the only payment option available for Windows Phone app purchase has been international credit cards. With Windows Phone 8, we now enable customers to purchase apps and games with local credit cards and debit cards as well as Alipay, which is a very popular payment option (with functionality similar to that in PayPal) in China with over 800 million registered accounts. Windows Phone Store is the first major smartphone OS app store to support Alipay for store purchase transactions and given the popularity of Alipay this provides a potential for a substantial increase in purchase transactions.