WeChat Pay, Alipay and other Chinese Bank Pay

[Randy W]

No SMS messages required for WeChat payments, except for the initial set-up. I basically use WeChat wallet for everything now (be it for online purchases or outside of the digital world at 711s, restaurants, and even the local street side vegetable market), and haven't used Alipay in ages, so I don't really remember if there are SMS messages required - don't think so.

 

 

Yes. no SMS messages required here, either (including from the bank), but acceptance is not nearly as widespread as in your area. Our grocery store only recently started accepting them - even the nearby computer vendor was unable to accept a WeChat payment.

 

My wife has Chinese credit cards that she can use everywhere, but she was unable to get one for me. My Discover card supposedly works anywhere that UnionPay is accepted, but it is rejected (by the machine) so often that I don't even try it any more.

 

I think the problem as far as getting me a credit card was needing a documented Chinese name (that is, with a birth certificate or other certification of the name).

Edited October 7, 2016 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

China Pictorial

3 hrs ·

 

Hangzhou: QR City

 

To say that mobile payments are popular in the lakeside city would be an understatement. Every stand at the Songmu Farmers’ Market features a sign reading “Payment by Alipay Recommended” over a QR code. A QR code is pasted over a Chinese oven rolls shop near Zhejiang University in the city. Most customers pay by scanning the QR code with their smartphones. Next to the code is a small basin for cash, with just a few coins.

 

. . .

 

Hangzhou is among the Chinese cities to witness the fastest development of mobile payments. Mobile payments are now widely used in large and medium-sized cities throughout China and are also reaching smaller cities and villages. In the foreseeable future, China may become a cashless society. Mobile payments have not only brought convenience to daily life but have also become a new economic growth point.

 

 

 

 

Hangzhou, the provincial seat of southeast China’s Zhejiang, has become famous as a “mobile payment city” after a news report that sounds a little funny. On March 27, 2017, two robbers traveled to Hangzhou by plane and bus. After robbing three stores, they had robbed only 2,000 yuan, less than the cost of the trip to Hangzhou. Many pointed out that residents of the city, where the headquarters of #Alibaba is stationed, mostly pay with Alipay or WeChat. Cash is seldom used. QR codes for mobile payments can be seen almost everywhere from noodle restaurants to roast sweet potato stands.

According to the data from Ant Financial, citizens of Hangzhou can use smartphone apps to pay for 98 percent of taxis, 95 percent of supermarkets, and over 50 percent of restaurants. Research conducted by the National School of Development of Peking University ranked Hangzhou first in inclusive finance from 2011 to 2015 among 337 Chinese cities. It tops Chinese cities in mobile payment proliferation, credit investigation, financial management, investment and insurance. Hangzhou has already become one of the most mobile-paying cities in the world. Click here to read more: http://www.chinapictorial.com.cn/…/20…/03/content_739990.htm

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP - I'm starting to use this more myself, but Jiaying still prefers her credit cards (as would I, if I could get one)

 

The rise of the QR code and how it has forever changed China’s social habits

It’s being used encourage tipping at restaurants, to receive cash gifts at weddings...even beggars are using it to collect handouts. The little barcode is driving China’s rapid shift towards a cashless society

 

 

According to internet consulting firm iResearch, payments made via mobile devices by Chinese consumers last year reached 38 trillion yuan (US$5.5 trillion, HK$43 trillion), more than half the nation’s GDP.

 

. . .

 

Thanks to QR code’s rapidly increasing usage at off-line shops, the amount of mobile payments on the mainland is now 50 times greater than that of the US. Mobile payments in the US totalled US$112 billion in 2016, according to Forrester Research.

To consumer behaviour researcher Chen Yiwen, we are witnessing the dawn of “codeconomy”.

“China has started the transition to a cash-free economy faster than anyone could have imagined, largely because of the viral spread of two-dimensional barcode,” said Chen, a professor and researcher with the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. “It creates a new economy based on scannable codes.”

 

 

 

[MikeandRong]

Any idea what the collecting fee is percentage wise? Or is there a minimum charge fee for very low cost transactions? Is there a cash price vs a mobile payment price for the same purchase?

 

While there will always be a market someplace for cash, it would appear that "cash is no longer king" in these areas, and I can see why too.

[Randy W]

Any idea what the collecting fee is percentage wise? Or is there a minimum charge fee for very low cost transactions? Is there a cash price vs a mobile payment price for the same purchase?

 

While there will always be a market someplace for cash, it would appear that "cash is no longer king" in these areas, and I can see why too.

 

The price is the same w/no fee, whether cash, credit, AliPay, or WeChat. AliPay offers a 3% discount when you "bank" money in advance - that is, they offer a ¥100 credit when you deposit ¥97 in your AliPay account.

 

I prefer the bank account to bank account transaction - I get an SMS message from the bank for any transaction. It goes through WeChat, so the merchant has no clue as to your bank information. Jiaying still prefers her credit cards (as would I, if I could get one) - it's MUCH better to settle up at the END of the month.

[MikeandRong]

3% is a fairly high sum, espically with no minimum deposit required. But if they hold it even a short time and can lend it out at 6%, that is quite a profit. Does the merchant have to pay a fee to be able to accept that payment system? I prefer the credit card too and likewise settle up in full just before the due date. Basically using their money interest free for the billing cycle, plus any perks that come with it, but there is no way the bank is paying me 3% interest on my deposit while I hold the money waiting to pay the card off. The local China store down the road gives a 1.75% discount if you pay with cash instead of a credit card. And the local gun shop shows a cash price with 3% added if paid with credit card. So I am assuming that the merchant here has to be paying between 1.75% to 3% to the credit card company. Could you dispute a charge made in China like you can here with that type of payment system? They must be making their money on the float (time from payment to time paid out). When your talking billions and billions, you can make a fortune even over just a 24 hour period.

 

You don't sell anything, you have no inventory, you don't manufacture anything. You simply provide a service with no real physical labor. Gotta love it!

[Randy W]

Can't say that I know the ins and outs of the system - it's all 'Chinese' to me. I figure it's just like cash, except fewer trips to the bank, and no more screwing with all the small bills. We sometimes get one mao coins, but everything is usually paper money. The only thing we need a coin for is the shopping carts at RT Mart - you unlock it with a ¥1 coin, which it gives you back when you return the cart.

 

For the credit cards in the U.S., the fee is 5% to the merchant, which is usually not 'passed along', except by raising everyone's prices I have no idea how (or if) they do that in China.

[MikeandRong]

Can't say that I know the ins and outs of the system - it's all 'Chinese' to me. I figure it's just like cash, except fewer trips to the bank, and no more screwing with all the small bills. We sometimes get one mao coins, but everything is usually paper money. The only thing we need a coin for is the shopping carts at RT Mart - you unlock lock it with a it gives you back a ¥1 coin, which it gives you back when you return the cart.

 

For the credit cards in the U.S., the fee is 5% to the merchant, which is usually not 'passed along', except by raising everyone's prices I have no idea how (or if) they do that in China.

I forgot about the small (coin denomination) bills. The larger coins felt heavier and thicker too.

[thelocaldialect]

The only fee involved in WeChat pay is when you want to withdraw money from your WeChat wallet to your bank account. The transaction fee is .1%, so it is really quite small, unless you're transferring massive sums (which, if you were a vendor, could happen, but most vendors still happily accept WeChat pay).

 

I use WeChat wallet to pay almost exclusively at all sorts of places -- it frees me of having to carry cash around, and I don't have to worry about whether or not places take card. It is quite common that the smaller shops and restaurants don't take card (credit debit or otherwise) but they will take WeChat or Alipay. Almost all online vendors take both. I bought 13,000RMB worth of plane tickets a week or so ago and paid online through ctrip using WeChat. So convenient, and almost no drawback to the user, as long as they're not scanning codes without paying attention to the amount paid.

[Randy W]

A somewhat longish article, but may be of interest in the MIT Technology Review





Can WeChat Thrive in the United States?



Though the messaging app dominates in China, few Americans have even heard of it.

In 2013, Tencent announced that it was opening an office in the United States with the aim of bringing WeChat to America. Having enjoyed success in its home market, seeking growth abroad was a natural next step. The company also saw an opportunity: there were already messaging apps in the U.S. market, but none had taken the country by storm. There seemed to be room for WeChat to shake things up, but that’s not what happened. Today how many Americans, aside from the ones with connections to China, have even heard of the product?

. . .

WeChat Pay is now operating in the United States, but not for the average American consumer. While Americans in the United States can create WeChat accounts, they can’t link them to their banks, so they are missing out on a crucial function. WeChat's wallet function is not yet available to users whose accounts are registered in the United States. American sellers who register as WeChat merchants will be able to accept payment from Chinese tourists and students.

Silicon Valley-based Citcon provides hardware, a free API, and customer service to U.S. vendors who are willing to take WeChat or Alipay payments from Chinese customers. Chinese tourists simply have to take out their mobile phone and scan their QR code to pay merchants from their WeChat accounts. WeChat Pay’s U.S. expansion makes perfect sense. Tencent can keep traveling users on their platform while tapping into a very lucrative market. Chinese outbound tourism spending reached over $260 billion last year, according to the World Tourism Organization, and there were hundreds of thousands of Chinese students in the United States. Citcon says that it is already working with around 300 merchants including hotels, airports, museums, restaurants, and amusement parks.

[yuehan123]

Was the original question ever answered? Nothing has changed for us since the posts that were referred to earlier. My wife still has the same Chinese Samsung Note 4. It has capacity for two SIM chips (or whatever). She has a Chinese Bank based credit card. When she is here in the US she puts her Chinese SIM in, buys her airline ticket, or whatever, a few minutes later the SMS text with code appears. Ba Da Bing purchase made and paid for.

 

Later she uses on-line banking to pay the credit card.

 

Seems simple to me. But, I'm not the one doing it. She is in China now and expressed surprise that almost everything and everyone pays with cell phone. Her Bank explained it is safer. Most of her family members don't carry much cash anymore.

[Randy W]

The only problem is that Jiaying won't tie her Weixin account to her bank account. So whenever she needs money she hands me the cash, and I transfer that amount to her Weixin account. So I end up with a fat wallet to carry around anyway.

 

< - - - seems to have disappeared for some reason - - - >

 

How mobile payments impact people’s lives in China

South China Morning Post

20 minutes ago ·

3-dots-h

Mainland China has become the world’s largest and fastest-growing market for proximity mobile payments. People in China are now comfortable paying with their mobile phones rather than with cash.

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Randy W
switch to YouTube video (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The only problem is that Jiaying won't tie her Weixin account to her bank account. So whenever she needs money she hands me the cash, and I transfer that amount to her Weixin account. So I end up with a fat wallet to carry around anyway.

 

< - - - seems to have disappeared for some reason - - - >

 

How mobile payments impact people’s lives in China

South China Morning Post

20 minutes ago ·

3-dots-h

Mainland China has become the world’s largest and fastest-growing market for proximity mobile payments. People in China are now comfortable paying with their mobile phones rather than with cash.

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1244773305668981/

 

 

I found the video here (on their own video channel) after it was taken down from Facebook - if you're still interested

 

https://www.scmp.com/video/china/2108990/how-mobile-payments-impact-peoples-lives-china

 

 

. . . and an article in the SCMP

 

 

China’s mobile payment systems put to the test on a cash-free day out in Shenzhen

Armed with a Chinese bank account, some ID and a smartphone, we test out the city’s cashless system, taking cabs, visiting markets, eating in a restaurant and using mall toilets using WeChat Pay and Alipay mobile payment systems

Edited September 10, 2017 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Greg.D.]

Nobody has explained yet why you must have a mainland China bank account to participate in either system (Alipay or wechat). Why you can't link your credit card or PayPal account to your wechat account. China is already not a popular place for tourists and I think this could accelerate the disinterest.

 

Whatever. This must really rub naturalized U.S./former Chinese citizens the wrong way. Or, can they keep their accounts? I'll try to find out if this has spread across China or just in their showcase cities or the east.

[Randy W]

Nobody has explained yet why you must have a mainland China bank account to participate in either system (Alipay or wechat). Why you can't link your credit card or PayPal account to your wechat account. China is already not a popular place for tourists and I think this could accelerate the disinterest.

 

Whatever. This must really rub naturalized U.S./former Chinese citizens the wrong way. Or, can they keep their accounts? I'll try to find out if this has spread across China or just in their showcase cities or the east.

 

PayPal China is entirely separate from PayPal - PayPal will not make payment in China.

 

They ONLY connect to Chinese banks - they will not allow you to connect to an out-of-China bank or credit card.

 

It's one of those CHINESE things. I posted an article a few posts back about using WeChat in the US - it IS possible, but you DO need a Chinese bank to make payments with it.

 

Yes, they can keep their Chinese accounts - I don't think ANYTHING happens to ANYTHING just for having emmigrated, unless you've somehow caught their eye the wrong way.