The Ever Evolving Mobile Wallet: China’s Alipay

Commonly referred to as the “PayPal of China,” leading online third-party payment service provider, Alipay, has continued its expansion beyond the e-commerce space. Its latest deal will position Alipay as a service that enables patients to book medical appointments, pay their bills and receive test results via their mobile devices, something hospitals in China are taking advantage of. .

With over 800 million registered users in China, Alipay is already the world’s largest online third-party payment service provider, but in recent years the company has prioritized the growth of its mobile payment functionality through its popular mobile wallet application. The application has been so successful that in February 2014, Alipay announced that it was the world’s largest mobile payment company, with volume reaching CNY 900 billion (USD 148 billion), compared to PayPal, which handled USD 27 billion from mobile payments in 2013 according to company reports.

This is an except from a blog on the Mercator Advisory Group.The entire blog and Mercator Advisory Group’s reports on the subject, Alipay: The E-Commerce Dragon: Beyond the Green Wall and Alibaba/AliPay: An Emerging Technology Review from a U.S. and Global Perspective, released in February and March 2014, are available to Mercator Advisory members. Sign up here. The Mercator Advisory Group will also be holding a webinar Thursday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m.