New | Can the state take China’s mobile payments market in 2016? Experts think not
China UnionPay launched mobile payments app in December but it may be too late for the firm to grab solid stake in business that processes more than 2 trillion yuan per quarter
The state’s reach into the mobile wallets of Chinese consumers is proving short.
The bank-card settlement monopoly China UnionPay in December made its first direct foray into mobile payment after years of struggling to secure a share of the industry’s profits as a clearing house.
Industry watchers say the new payment application for smartphones, called Cloud Quick Pass, has arrived several years tardy to the bustling payments market dominated by China’s technology and e-commerce firms.
The dim prospects for Cloud also augurs poorly for other new global entrants to China’s mobile payments market in 2016.
“It’s too late for anyone to enter this market right now,” says Will Tao, senior research manager at iResearch. “No one is going to add another payment app to their phone – even if they are state backed.”
Analysts may not be excited about the prospects but more than 20 large China banks have eagerly signed up. All five of China’s national state commercial banks and most joint-stock banks announced partnerships in December with UnionPay.
