BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Alipay and its local wallet partners served more than 1.2 billion users across the world by the end of June, according to Alipay, China's leading online payment platform.

The number climbed 20 percent in half a year, as it announced in early January that its users topped 1 billion globally.

Alipay has created nine local versions of "Alipay" tailored for various global markets by opening up technology to local partners.

Consumers from the Chinese mainland can use Alipay in 56 overseas markets, according to Alipay.

About 633 million people on the Chinese mainland made online payments as of June, 32.65 million more than the figure of December 2018, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

Chinese online payment platforms have tested new features that do not require a mobile phone. Alipay and WeChat pay, two leading mobile payment platforms, both launched online payment services using facial recognition technologies.