Mobile payments taking off in China

Shopping carnivals initiated by Chinese e-tailers are generating massive sales. China’s famous Cyber Monday (11 November) registered record sales of USD10 billion within 24 hours in 2014. Has China entered the age of digital payments? Spire Research and Consulting shared its insights, published on the US Consumer Electronics Association’s blog.

Chinese e-commerce giants including Alibaba Group and JD.com offer huge discounts during such e-commerce shopping carnivals to propagate digital payment technology, to the massive acclaim of Chinese consumers.

As China’s e-commerce market expands, third-party payment platforms lead the way. This space is dominated by Alipay (Alibaba), UnionPay, 99Bill and Tenpay (Tencent). The potential is evident from Alipay’s hike in transaction value to USD9 billion in 2014 in comparison to USD8 million in 2009.

At the same time, payments are not only limited to the e-commerce realm but include mobile payments as well. These include E-wallet, repayments (credit card and loan), electronic funds transfer, utilities (water, TV, electricity and so forth), insurance, as well as charitable donations, to name a few.

Some innovative approaches to mobile payments are Alipay’s AA payment which allows the splitting of a single bill amount, as going Dutch in China is quite common. It helps a user create an Alipay group and sends notifications to other payers (in group) for the total amount to be collected. Tencent’s Tenpay launched a similar app by adding a mobile wallet feature to its popular WeChat mobile messenger – keeping in view its wide user base of 500 million in mainland China and 100 million overseas users.

On the other hand, mobile payments are being pushed into the brick and mortar channels through shopping carnivals such as the ‘Double 12 (December 12)’ with heavy discounts given to customers for purchases via mobile payments in physical retail outlets.

The good news is that this concept is working wonders – more than 20,000 stores from over 100 retail chains including FamilyMart and MerryMart were part of the ‘Double 12’ in 2014. This carnival became a magnet for thousands of post-60 and post-70 Chinese nationals trying their hand at this technology.

There can be little doubt that mobile payment is taking off in China.

https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/mobile-payments-taking-off-in-china/

Comments

Spire joins AmCham Corporate Community Day for seventh consecutive year

Spire Singapore collaborated with the Singapore Children’s Society for the fourth consecutive year, in support of AmCham Singapore’s Corporate Community Day (CCD) 2014. This is the seventh year in which Spire has been participating in the CCD program, which aims to promote corporate volunteerism. Spire Singapore took beneficiaries of the Singapore Children’s Society to a pizza making session. The children were thrilled by their new-found ability to make their own edible creations. They enjoyed the morning while at the same time picking up a useful and confidence-building skill, not to mention many fun facts about the history of pizza. We were honored by the visit of Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Blair Hall, who joined us with his wife Valerie. Valerie joined in the pizza making session. Blair and his team interacted with the beneficiaries as well as the staff and volunteers of Spire Singapore and the Singapore Children’s Society. The enthusiasm did not di...

India ranks among the world’s top compact SUV markets!

India overtook Japan in 2017 as the third largest manufacturer of compact SUVs. Big players such as Renault, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford Motor, Hyundai Motor, Maruti Suzuki and other SUV manufacturers sold 457,698 compact SUVs in 2017 – over four times the unit sales in 2015, at 107,634. While 2016 saw shrinking sales for this vehicle category in China and the USA, sales in India grew nearly 50% from 307,365 units in 2016. Will India overtake China as the world’s largest compact SUV market? For more information, click here.

Egyptian-Israeli gas deal to boost bilateral trade

A USD15 billion deal has been announced between Israel and Egypt to export natural gas. Israel’s Delek Group has signed an agreement to supply 64 billion cubic meters of gas in a span of ten years to Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings. The deal is considered a milestone ever since the 1979 peace accord, bringing Egypt a step closer to becoming a regional energy hub. However, the transportation of natural gas from Israel to Egypt is a challenge given the security risks. Will the Egypt-Israel gas export deal usher in a relationship of bonhomie and economic co-operation? For more information, click here .

Family cafés the answer to Finland’s aging society

Finland’s largest non-profit organization (NPO), Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) dedicated to child and family welfare, run Family café sessions for a nominal fee. Such cafés were established in Sweden in the 1970s and moved to Nordic countries in the early 2000’s. These cafes help combat loneliness and contribute towards the mental health of parents in Finland’s aging society with low fertility rates. Will family cafés promote mental health and family life in Finland’s rapidly aging society? Read more: https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/family-cafes-the-answer-to-finlands-aging-society/

Asian consumers embrace local brands

With growing regional integration and rising incomes, more Asian consumers are choosing Asian brands against foreign brands. Xiaomi, an Asian brand, outsold Apple in China in 2014 for the first time. Brunei based brand – Brunei Halal – recently opened stores in Malaysia targeting its Muslim population. The Indian government’s knowledge website initiative – known as Vikaspedia and offering content in 22 different local languages – is gaining ground. Taobao, Air Asia, Alipay, Huawei, Siam Cement, San Miguel, Tiger Beer and Indofood are other Asian brands that are on the march. They all hail from countries other than Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the traditional sources of Asian brands. Will more Asian brands take the leap to become global brands as the top Japanese and Korean brands have become? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/asian-consumers-embrace-local-brands/

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog