A report by online retailer Alibaba showed that the use of Alipay, a popular Chinese mobile payment service provider, increased exponentially in popular shopping destinations during the holidays. For instance, the Bicester Village outlet shopping centre in the UK, Dotonbori commercial zone in Osaka, and Australia's Sydney Airport saw mobile payments through Alipay increased by 90-fold, 70-fold, and 55-fold respectively.
The popularity of mobile payments has not been confined to tech-savvy youth. Alibaba's data showed that payments made by people born in the 1960s increased by 90% during the holiday week.
Besides Alipay, some other mobile payment services frequently used among Chinese consumers include WeChat Pay, Huawei Pay, Apple Pay, and Mi Pay. However, Alipay and WeChat Pay have dominated the Chinese mobile payment services market, controlling 54% and 40% respectively. In the face of domestic market saturation, both companies have been aggressively extending their reach in overseas markets.
A recent Nielsen survey indicated that 90% of Chinese travellers prefer to make payments with mobile phones when shopping. While some have raised concern about privacy and hacking risks, the vast majority of Chinese consumers have cited convenience and security as top reasons for the use of mobile payment services both at home and abroad.