Harrison was Business Insider's first international correspondent, covering global issues, international technology industries, and travel from both a budget and a luxury perspective. But the battle for who will dominate the mobile payments industry is only just starting to heat up. In terms of market share, Alipay has 54% compared to 40% for WeChat Pay, according to iResearch Consulting Group. Both companies are beginning to introduce other financial products, such as loans and money market funds, as well. The consumer data from payments is used to build detailed profiles of each user, which can then be monetized for marketing purposes directly within their apps in ways that even Facebook and Google would salivate over.įor example, that baby formula that you bought from the convenience store is telling Taobao to start sending you ads and promotions for other infant products to buy directly in the Taobao app.įurther, both Tencent and Alibaba have credit scoring businesses - Tencent Credit and Zhima Credit, respectively - that heavily factor payment histories into their scores. WeChat and Taobao, Alibaba's primary app, both serve a variety of functions from messaging, social networking, and e-commerce to taxi-hailing, bike-sharing and travel booking. At the gate of the city's ancient walls, I happened upon a group of Chinese students gathered to listen to a few musicians sing on a Saturday night. The depth to which the payment method has become part of daily life was driven home for me on a recent visit to the city of Xi'an, a city of 13 million in northwestern China. Tencent and Alibaba's competing mobile payment apps - WeChat Pay and AliPay, respectively - are used by just about everyone in China, from fancy restaurants and high-end designer boutiques down to street vendors, taxi drivers, and even panhandlers. Meanwhile, the US saw $112 billion in mobile payments in 2016, according to a Forrester Research estimate. Mobile payments totaled $9 trillion in 2016, according to iResearch Consulting Group. Over the last 15 years, mobile payments in China have grown into a $16 trillion market dominated by China's two biggest tech giants - Tencent and Alibaba.

In July, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered app stores to remove ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing’s app, claiming the company was collecting users’ personal data.Paying with your phone isn't a novelty in China these days. The lawsuit is likely part of a larger crackdown by China on its largest tech companies in recent months in April, it levied a $2.8 billion (18.23 billion yuan) fine against Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba because it claimed the company stifled competition. Tencent did not immediately comment about the lawsuit, but it said last week it would place restrictions on its Honor of Kings game -which the Chinese news article specifically referenced-for players under 18, limiting how long they can play the game daily. The suit doesn’t specify how the app’s youth mode violates the law, according to Reuters, but the action comes a few days after a state-owned Chinese newspaper referred to online games as “opium for the mind.” That article was later updated and toned down somewhat, the Wall Street Journal reported, but not before Tencent’s shares fell by more than 10 percent. When WeChat is used in youth mode, it restricts younger users’ access to functions like mobile payments, as well as certain games. Prosecutors in Beijing are suing Chinese tech giant Tencent, claiming the “youth mode” on its WeChat app is against laws protecting minors, Reuters reported.

China 900b wechat 259bstreetjournal