What's New in Payments

Chinese consumers have now deposited $150bn with Alipay and Tencent

PBOC to raise reserve funds ratio for third-party payment firms to 100% — Caixin — “The two largest third-party payment firms, Alipay and Tenpay, combined hold nearly 1tn yuan (US$151bn) of customers’ funds, about 90% of the total reserve funds… Reserve funds are prepayments from online shoppers held temporarily by payment companies that can then earn income on the cash by depositing it in banks or even buying government bonds… The requirement means payment firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd backed Alipay and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Tenpay can no longer invest money deposited by their respective clients.”


What's New in Payments

UnionPay: NFC mobile payment volumes are ‘growing quickly’ in China

Apple Pay growing fast but still bit player in China: UnionPay — Caixin — “Two years after their launch in China, a group of third-party mobile payment services led by global giant Apple Inc make up only a small fraction of contactless payments in the country, but the number is growing quickly… About 20% of UnionPay’s 94tn yuan (US$14.2tn) in annual transaction volume now comes from near field communication (NFC) technology payments.”


What's New in Payments

Six in ten Chinese consumers have experienced a mobile payments security threat

Quick take: Mobile payment fraud rises in China, report finds — Caixin — “A China UnionPay survey of 105,000 people found that 60% had been exposed to some kind of mobile payment security threat, including information leaks, fraud or malicious attacks… Nearly 30% of users reporting mobile payment fraud said QR codes were involved, up from 15% last year.”


Transit Ticketing Today

Shanghai Metro installs QR code readers at ticketing gates

Shanghai Metro to accept mobile-app payments — Caixin — “QR code-readers are being installed in all 389 metro stations in the city, which will allow passengers to use an app developed by metro operator Shanghai Shentong Metro Group. The app – dubbed ‘Metro daduhui’ – will connect to the payments systems of Alipay and China UnionPay.”


What's New in Payments

Chinese ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing enters the payments market

Didi Chuxing picks up a payment license — Caixin — “Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, is speeding into the payments business, acquiring a much-coveted license to join the red-hot internet financial-services arena. Didi has agreed to fully acquire third-party payment-services provider 19Pay for 300m yuan (US$45.4m)… Last year, the PBOC said it would control the number of third-party payment licenses issued, making it increasingly difficult to get a license.”




What's New in Payments

Apple Pay launches in China

Apple Pay has begun rolling out across China, letting consumers pay in-store with compatible Apple devices using their China UnionPay credit and debit cards at QuickPass-enabled POS terminals as well as make purchases within participating mobile apps. More