The Popularity of WeChat Pay and Alipay
Alipay and WeChat Pay both provide online and in-store payment services. These two e-wallets almost monopolise the Chinese payment market, even the overseas market where Chinese live.
Last year WeChat and Alipay reported a combined 1.1 billion active users. Accounting for over 90% of China’s mobile payments. What’s more, WeChat Pay announced that their services are available in more than 40 countries and regions, supporting multiple currencies. While Alipay also supports around 30 kinds of currency and provides services worldwide.
In China, more than 800 million people use WeChat and Alipay to make payments and deal with other daily stuff. You may ask why most of the mobile users in China install WeChat and Alipay on their devices. The reason is that these two payment platforms apply in different scenarios.
Different Focus on Alipay and WeChat Pay
WeChat pay is more applied in social scenarios. Due to the fact that WeChat is a multi-purpose messaging App. The payment is only one of the functions. So it is more related to social activities. For example, transferring money to your friends in a message box, paying your utility bills, ordering takeaway, etc.
However, Alipay is more inclined to deal with “money”, so when it comes to online shopping, large amounts transfer, and even wealth management, more people will choose to use Alipay. Now it has solved the quota regulation of the central bank through online commercial Banks. Alipay built its own financial system on credit rating, debt(HuaBei), and financial derivatives and enhanced the advantages of financial management. Meanwhile, it continues to strengthen the online and offline shopping experience and subsidies, strengthen the retail shopping attribute, and explore and optimise the new function of payment.
Payment solutions of WeChat Pay and Alipay offer can satisfy the majority of paying needs and are available in all aspects of Chinese people’s daily life.
What GlobePay Can Help UK Businesses
GlobePay is the official UK partner of both Alipay and WeChat Pay. Therefore, we are in a better position to help your UK business add the most popular Asian payment solutions. In that case, your business will have unique access to a vast amount of users frequenting the popular platforms. Connecting to Chinese tourists, students and consumers is instantly clear and familiar with GlobePay payment solutions.
