2 PAYMENT METHOD PROFILES: DIGITAL WALLETS
Case Studies
Case Study: China Online payment usage doubled in China in the recent decade. In 2024, around 92.8 percent of internet users in China had used online payment services. 319 As of June 2024, nearly 970 million individuals in China actively used mobile payments. 320 In China, mobile payments have given people in rural areas access to financial services, with more than 20% of users as of 2020 from counties, townships, and villages. 321 Alipay and WeChat Pay, owned by Ant Financial and TenCent respectively, are the most common digital payments options across China, with nearly all online Chinese customers using the providers within the past 12 months (Graph 2.26). 322 Alipay and WeChat Pay each have over a billion users with a combined user base exceeding 2.5 billion customers. 323
China’s Most Popular Digital Payment Options Share of Chinese online payment customers who used the following providers in the past 12 months
92%
85%
45%
23%
22%
19%
14%
11%
Share of Customers 0-100%
2,000 online payment customers from Mainland China (18-64 y/o) surveyed Oct. 22 - Sep. 23 Source: Statista Consumer Insights
Graph 2.26
Both Alipay and WeChat Pay are primarily accessed via QR or bar codes – either scanning the seller’s QR code or displaying the buyer’s QR code. 324 However, facial recognition, palm scans, and more recently NFC contactless payments are on the rise in China. 325 Other leading digital payment options in China include Union Pay, JDPay.com, Apple Pay, TenCent, Best Pay, and PayPal. China Union Pay and Best Pay are connected to state- owned payment networks and state-owned actors (China Telecom), respectively. 326 While Alipay was initially only available to Chinese citizens and residents with a Chinese bank account, 327 the wallet has since tested use cases for customers traveling to China via a 90-day Tour Pass program and, as of August 2023, has enabled foreign visitors to connect their Alipay accounts with international credit cards. This program enables
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