With interest rate higher than bank accounts deposit rate, more and more shoppers were attracted to use the Yu’EBao service as a virtual wallet. As a result, so much cash was sitting in Alipay’s deposit pool that it figured out a way to benefit the shoppers and to further enhance user stickiness, by providing Yu’EBao service, a money market fund for shoppers’ deposits in their Alipay accounts. For its convenience and reliability, Alipay has also caught on the rising momentum of mobile commerce and became the dominant payment method. Successfully solving the trust issue, Alipay saw tremendous growth on Taobao plaform, and even started to be used on other platforms outside of the Alibaba ecosystem.Īlong the way, Alipay put a lot of emphasis on improving payment authorization rate in order to guarantee the best user experience. So Taobao introduced Alipay as a 3rd party to temporarily hold the money paid by the buyer, and would not release the money to the seller until the buyer confirms that the product was received and in good condition. Back then, many conversations between sellers and buyers on Taobao failed to result in a transaction, often times because both sides suspected each other as fraudsters. To enhance its competitive advantage, Taobao tried to solve the biggest pain point in ecommerce in China at that point - the trust between seller and buyer. It was right after eBay acquired in China, and Taobao saw this acquisition as a major threat for its marketplace business. So I decided to write a piece about Alipay and WeChat Pay about their history, how they shaped the ecommerce and payment industries in China, and their growing impact outside of China.(Disclaimer: all views are my own, not related to my employer.)īorn in 2004, Alipay was first created as the payment department of Taobao, the B2C platform of Alibaba Group. Recently I have been getting a lot of questions from my American and European friends and colleagues about what Alipay and WeChat Pay do and what impact they have made on the payment industry, as increasingly more businesses start to realize their importance thanks to their media traction lately. Lead photo courtesy of Gotovan via FlickrĮditorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.Everything You Need to Know about Alipay and WeChat Pay Sign up for Thrifty Traveler, and like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter & Instagram Want the best flight deals and travel tips delivered to your inbox? The ability to use either AliPay or WeChat Pay is much more convenient than constantly heading back to the ATM to withdraw cash.
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China is increasingly moving towards a cashless society, and that has made it tricky for some tourists. tourists need a visa to visit China – though you might qualify for a visa-free transit visit if your stay is short.Ĭhina saw 141 million visitors in 2018 – up 1.2% from the prior year. That number will only grow as tourism to China increases. Today, AliPay is used by 1.2 billion people while WeChat Pay has nearly 1 billion users. It marks the first time international visitors will be able to use the wildly popular payment platforms.
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WeChat Pay will allow both as well as American Express. You simply scan QR codes to start the payment process at your restaurant, bar, or store.ĪliPay will allow Visa and Mastercard, along with a few other foreign banks.
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#Wechat pay alipay six more chinese android#
Both apps can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices. CNBC reports both AliPay and WeChat Pay have opened up to tourists with international versions that can be funded via foreign accounts. And considering many Chinese businesses also don't accept foreign credit cards like American Express or Visa, it leaves cash as the only constant option for travelers visiting China. They're using AliPay or WeChat Pay, two massively popular smartphone payment apps that have become a part of daily life in China.īut not for tourists as those payment apps required a Chinese bank account. Spend just a few hours and China and you'll notice locals aren't pulling out their wallets to pay for dinner or groceries. For more information check out our Advertising Disclosure. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers.