The state of play for China’s mobile payments industry
The discussion started with a recap of changes to the domestic market, including the transaction settlement processions of WeChat Pay and AliPay, as well as the response of these two companies to the PBOC’s policy changes, and some data on market shares during the past few years.
Determinants of transaction settlement fees were also covered, with the specialist noting that “there is no authority setting an official pricing standard for payment service fees” and highlighting the strategies of the two main companies.
The specialist gave an overview of the number of transactions in offline and online scenarios. On the commercial side, WeChat records about 760 million transactions per day at present, while for AliPay that figure stands at 680 million. Details about other categories, such as social, were also covered.
Finally, the conversation turned to the PBOC’s creation of a digital currency, its purpose, and what it could mean for the major players in this industry. The specialist commented that “its role in breaking up monopoly will be limited, but over time, it will play a significant part in forming a new settlement structure that is favoured by the PBOC and likely to pose a threat to WeChat Pay.”
To access all the human insights from Third Bridge Forum’s China’s 2020 Digital Payment Industry – WeChat Pay vs Alipay Interview, click here to view the full transcript.
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