Mobile Wallets Now Control 84% of Payments in China
A recent GlobalData survey has revealed that a majority of payments in China are now occurring through mobile money wallets. The survey found that mobile money wallets are responsible for covering a whopping 84% of payments in the east Asian nation, a concrete sign that Chinese consumers have overwhelmingly bought into mobile money wallets.
According to the GlobalData 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey, slightly more than 84% of consumers in China reported that they had virtual wallets such as WeChat Pay and Alipay and had used them to purchase goods in a physical shop in the past year. GlobalData states that the increase in mobile money wallet use among Chinese consumers is largely due to significantly increased access to smartphones and the internet as well as the adoption of QR code-based payment systems in recent years.
With such high rates of mobile money wallet use, China is ahead of most countries across the globe in mobile money adoption. With 8 of the top 10 markets enjoying high mobile money wallet adoption located in Asia, most of China’s competition comprises its neighbors. GlobalData’s senior banking and payments analyst Poornima Chinta says the proliferation of mobile money wallets in China was supported by access to high-speed internet and affordable smartphones.
Chinta adds that the integration of QR codes into payment systems by retailers also encouraged the adoption of mobile money wallets among Chinese consumers. These virtual payment tools have been around for several years now, but their popularity exploded during the coronavirus pandemic when handling physical cash was discouraged.
Consumers in several markets still prefer to use mobile money wallets several years after the pandemic due to the convenience they offer. China is currently home to one of the world’s most mature mobile money wallet markets where customers regularly use virtual payment tools to cover day-to-day transactions at shops, public transport, supermarkets and even street stalls. Beijing has supported the segment’s growth by encouraging the use and adoption of e-CNY, the digital currency introduced by China’s central bank.
As expected, China’s mobile money space is dominated by WeChat Pay and Alipay as consumers in China typically prefer to use domestic payment tools. This preference for local mobile money wallets has also contributed to the growth seen in this sector in recent months. WeChat Pay is mostly popular in China due to its integration in Chinese social media platform WeChat. Both WeChat Pay and Alipay also have a major presence in overseas markets with each registering more than a billion users worldwide.
Other mobile payment technology providers such as FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) in the Chinese market could have also played a notable role in making mobile payments seamless and popular within the population of the country.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FNGR
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the ChineseWire website applicable to all content provided by CW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.ChineseWire.com/Disclaimer
A recent GlobalData survey has revealed that a majority of payments in China are now occurring through mobile money wallets. The survey found that mobile money wallets are responsible for covering a whopping 84% of payments in the east Asian nation, a concrete sign that Chinese consumers have overwhelmingly bought into mobile money wallets.
According to the GlobalData 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey, slightly more than 84% of consumers in China reported that they had virtual wallets such as WeChat Pay and Alipay and had used them to purchase goods in a physical shop in the past year. GlobalData states that the increase in mobile money wallet use among Chinese consumers is largely due to significantly increased access to smartphones and the internet as well as the adoption of QR code-based payment systems in recent years.
With such high rates of mobile money wallet use, China is ahead of most countries across the globe in mobile money adoption. With 8 of the top 10 markets enjoying high mobile money wallet adoption located in Asia, most of China’s competition comprises its neighbors. GlobalData’s senior banking and payments analyst Poornima Chinta says the proliferation of mobile money wallets in China was supported by access to high-speed internet and affordable smartphones.
Chinta adds that the integration of QR codes into payment systems by retailers also encouraged the adoption of mobile money wallets among Chinese consumers. These virtual payment tools have been around for several years now, but their popularity exploded during the coronavirus pandemic when handling physical cash was discouraged.
Consumers in several markets still prefer to use mobile money wallets several years after the pandemic due to the convenience they offer. China is currently home to one of the world’s most mature mobile money wallet markets where customers regularly use virtual payment tools to cover day-to-day transactions at shops, public transport, supermarkets and even street stalls. Beijing has supported the segment’s growth by encouraging the use and adoption of e-CNY, the digital currency introduced by China’s central bank.
As expected, China’s mobile money space is dominated by WeChat Pay and Alipay as consumers in China typically prefer to use domestic payment tools. This preference for local mobile money wallets has also contributed to the growth seen in this sector in recent months. WeChat Pay is mostly popular in China due to its integration in Chinese social media platform WeChat. Both WeChat Pay and Alipay also have a major presence in overseas markets with each registering more than a billion users worldwide.
Other mobile payment technology providers such as FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) in the Chinese market could have also played a notable role in making mobile payments seamless and popular within the population of the country.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FNGR
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the ChineseWire website applicable to all content provided by CW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.ChineseWire.com/Disclaimer
