The six banks in the e-CNY pilot schemes include China's biggest lenders such Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank. Under a two-tier distribution system, the PBOC issues the digital currency to banks, which pass the money to individuals and companies.
The e-CNY digitalises a portion of China's physical notes and coins, or currency in circulation (M0), and was launched last year in small pilot schemes in four cities.
WECHAT PAY ALIPAY SIX MORE CHINESE TRIAL
Ant-backed MYbank said it is "one of the parties participating in the research and development" of the e-CNY, and "will steadily advance the trial pursuant to the overall arrangement of the People's Bank of China." The PBOC and Tencent declined to respond to requests for comment.Īnt declined to comment on the relationship between Alipay and e-CNY. "WeChat Pay and Alipay own an ocean of data," so the e-CNY rollout facilitates China's anti-trust campaign and helps the government control big data, he added. Whoever owns data thrives," said another banking official tasked with promoting the e-CNY. In public, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) says e-CNY won't compete with AliPay or WeChat Pay, and serves only as a "backup" or "redundancy".īut in private, state banks marketing the digital fiat currency for the central bank bluntly describe Beijing's intention to undercut the duo's dominance. Ma's Alibaba Group Holdings was recently hit with a record $2.8 billion antitrust penalty. Regulators scuppered Ant's record $37 billion IPO in November and earlier this month imposed a sweeping restructuring on the fintech conglomerate controlled by Jack Ma. That turf encroachment coincides with Beijing's expanding effort to clamp down on anticompetitive behaviour in the internet sector, part of a wider reining in of the clout of sector heavyweights. Alipay, which currently supports 27 currencies, works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers.China's development of a sovereign digital currency, which is far ahead of similar initiatives in other major economies, looks increasingly poised to erode the dominance of Ant Group's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay in online payments. Launched in 2004, Alipay’s in-store payment service covers more than 40 countries and regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 29 countries and regions. More than half of the overseas businesses surveyed saw an increase in both foot traffic in their stores and the size of transactions made by Chinese travellers after they adopted Alipay, a report released jointly by US research firm Nielsen and Alipay in January. Alipay had a 54% market share followed by WeChat Pay’s 39% during the three-month period, said the research firm. Mobile payment has increasingly become the payment method of choice among Chinese consumers due to widespread ownership of smartphones and convenience of making secure payments through the scanning of QR codes, a feature available through both Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay.Ĭhina’s mobile payment reached 47.2 trillion yuan (RM 28.61 trillion) in Q4 2018, up 7.8% from the previous quarter, according to a research note by Analysys. Airports, department stores, pharmacies and convenience stores were among the places that recorded the highest Alipay expenditure.Īlipay is expanding in Japan ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games that Tokyo will host next summer. Transaction volume in Japan during May 1-4 ranked the fourth across all markets, registering an increase of 25% from the same period last year. Asia as a region, led by China, has become a major source of tourist spending in Japan, accounting for 86% of total visitors, according to Ant Financial. More than 8.3 million Chinese people travelled to Japan in 2018, accounting for 27% of total arrivals, according to Alipay. The number of merchants that accept Alipay have surged by about six times from about 50,000 in early 2018.
Alipay, the mobile payments arm of Alibaba Group has signed up more than 300,000 retailers in Japan to its m-payments service to serve the growing number of Chinese tourists to the country.Īnt Financial will not charge access fees in extending its services to more retailers in Japan.
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