Wireless payment methods in accepted at a Hong Kong shop. (Photo : Getty Images)
A latest study has found that as more Chinese embrace third-party services to run errands and pay back credit cards, mobile wallets are growing into a lifestyle choice embedded into interactions and daily activities.
Alipay, China's top online payment provider, said that its users from five provinces and municipalities made an average of more than 100,000 transactions last year.
Transactions of Shanghai Alipay users averaged to about 148,000 in 2016, which is 1.5 times higher year-over-year.
Guangdong Province, meanwhile, grabbed the top spot in terms of total transaction volume, claiming 16 percent of the payment pie nationwide.
The study also shows that the mainstream vehicle for payments are from mobile gadgets. About 71 percent of all transactions conducted via Alipay went through mobile devices in 2016. This is a 6 percent increase compared in 2015.
Alipay also said that digital wallets have gained tremendous popularity in China's inland provinces, wherein residents rely exclusively on mobile carrier coverage on their smartphones to access the Internet.
It is reported that 90 percent of Alipay transactions in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and 88 percent from both Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, were all conducted through mobile devices.
Alipay accounts for about 44 percent of the global mobile wallet spending, according to Worldpay's Global Payments Report of 2016. It is predicted to reach 60 percent by year 2020.
In addition, the integration of payment functions into public service platforms is gaining popularity. This is where 450 million users can pay utility bills, make medical appointments and settle traffic ticket fines with a few taps on the mobile app.
The online access to these services is made available in 357 Chinese cities, wherein it was accessed over 1 billion times last year.
There are also approximately 2.3 billion Alipay transactions that were made through Ant Check Later, a credit-scoring service from Alipay's parent, Ant Financial Services Group.
Yang Yaqion, a senior IT analyst at Analysys, said: "Chinese payment tools have become an essential part of consumers' day-to-day lifestyle, years ahead of their Western counterparts."
