China's Most Popular Digital Payment Services - China's Most Popular Digital Payment Services

Published on: March 20, 2019 / Updated on: December 3, 2020 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

China is undoubtedly a world leader in digital payments, both in online shopping and in pre-ordering at brick-and-mortar stores, cafes, and restaurants. Data from a survey by Tech Giants shows that almost as many Chinese shop online as use the highly popular pre-ordering option. Sixty percent of respondents stated that they use digital financial services daily.

China's own digital payment companies are leading the way, with Alipay from e-commerce giant Alibaba being the most popular, followed by WeChat Pay, QQ Wallet, and Baidu Wallet. Many large internet companies in China have spun off their own payment services and are thriving. The international services of big players like Apple, Google, and Amazon lag far behind, and even online payment veteran PayPal has yet to gain a foothold.

Facebook Payments currently only offers peer-to-peer payments, but plans to build its own fully-fledged payment system in China. Entering the highly competitive Chinese market could prove difficult, even for this global player.

When it comes to digital payments, China is certainly a world leader both in the areas of online shopping and pre-ordering from brick-and-mortar stores, cafés and restaurants. Data from the Tech Giants survey shows that nearly as many Chinese citizens shop online as use the very popular option of pre-ordering. 60 percent of respondents said they used digital financial services daily.

Homegrown companies lead the way in the Chinese digital payments industry, with Alipay by e-commerce giant Alibaba being the most popular, followed by WeChat Pay, QQ Wallet, and Baidu Wallet. Many major internet players in China have spun off their own payment service and are successful at it. International services by big players Apple, Google and Amazon are trailing far behind and not even online payment veteran PayPal can get a foot on the ground.

Facebook Payments so far only offers peer-to-peer payments but is planning to roll out its own full-fledged payment service in China. Breaking into the competitive Chinese market might prove tough, even for the global player.

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