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 appointed Official Research Partner to the BMW Malaysian Open once more

The BMW Malaysian Open has carved a place in the tennis world’s calendar of key events. This year, it was held from 14 to 20 April 2014 at the Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Spire was honored to be appointed as the Official Research Partner of the BMW Malaysian Open for the third consecutive year. In collaboration with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM), Spire was excited to be a partner to this global sporting event. It witnessed world-class players in action, including Karolina Pliskova, Hsieh Su Wei and Venus Williams. As the Official Research Partner, the Spire Malaysia team contributed its research expertise in developing fact-based insights from spectators, so as to aid the organizers in improving the event for the coming years. The Spire team was thrilled to be a part of this exciting tournament once again. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-appointed-official-research-...

Spire joins list of sponsors for Phoenix Global Chamber

The Phoenix Global Chamber aims to grow the number of people successfully engaged with cross-border trade and investment. With over 20,000 followers on its list, it strives to advance companies, careers as well as communities. Spire Research and Consulting is proud to announce its association with the Global Chamber of Phoenix as a sponsor. The Global Chamber of Phoenix, Arizona further engages leaders, companies and communities to facilitate global business growth and improve cross-border understanding. It aims to bring together like-minded people with the common mission of growing business across borders. As a sponsor, Spire will have the privilege of appearing in banner ads across the Chamber’s website, featured in regular e-newsletters and have access to speaker opportunities. Spire is proud of this new association and hopes to have the privilege of working with more Phoenix-based organizations to develop and execute their strategies in global emerging markets. This a...

China’s landfills: Can waste be turned into energy?

260 million used tires are dumped in landfills all over the world. These tires contaminate groundwater and create clouds of black grime when they ignite, releasing toxins into the atmosphere. IFW Recycling Corporation based in the U.S. sees these old tires as a clean, green and efficient source of fuel. The tires are gassed to result in usable diesel fuel. This does not cause pollution and creates by-products for further use such as distilled water, carbon black and ash. With China emerging as one of the world’s biggest polluters, its government is seeking alternatives to coal-fired electricity generation. This could be one of them. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/chinas-landfills-can-waste-be-turned-into-energy/

How will policies affect the construction industry?

- Mr. Japnit Singh, Senior Director, Singapore and India, Spire Research and Consulting India, as the world’s seventh largest country by area and second biggest by population, is one of the most dynamically growing, but largely untapped construction equipment markets. From 2013 to 2020, it is estimated to grow six times to a size of USD20 billion to USD25 billion. The Planning Commission, Government of India, jointly with the Indian construction industry has set up Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) to take up activities for the development of the Indian construction industry. The Council, for the first time in the country, provides the impetus and organizational infrastructure to raise quality levels across the industry. This helps to secure wider appreciation of the interests of construction business by the government, industry and peer groups in society. CIDC is a change agent to accelerate a process of self-reform that should enable the industry...

Mobile banking poised to take off in Vietnam’s rural areas

Vietnam’s rural population is still struggling with access to basic financial services. With the high mobile penetration rate, can mobile phones be a platform to address their needs? Yap Far Loon, Business Development Director, Telecommunications at Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights on the untapped potential for mobile financial services to serve Vietnam’s rural population in The Saigon Times Daily. According to a Spire report, an astounding 60 million people in Vietnam do not have access to basic financial services. Only 22% of the population – predominantly those residing in urban areas – have access to financial services. Why are the rural areas being left out? Yap opined that high costs are the main reason. For instance, the cost of installation, maintenance, operation and location rental for Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) alone exceeds VND300 million annually. Moreover, as rural transaction volumes are low, economies of scale are limited, making it even ...

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog