Starting on September 30th individuals who use WeChat Pay or Alipay will have the ability to be able to transfer funds to and from each other for the first time using the Hong Kong Monetary Authorities’ faster payment system. It is important to note that under the new faster payment system interbank or e-wallet transfers will be free and take place in real time around the clock all year round also the transfers can be made in Hong Kong dollars as well as yuan.
Customers of one of the ten key wallet operators as well as the 21 participating banks can register for the service via their email or mobile number. Customers under the service will have the ability to be able to make payments the multiple things however they will only have the ability to be able to receive money to one bank account. In an additional benefit to consumers, the system will allow customers who use their mobile phones to transfer funds to merchants via QR codes however currently there are only ten read retailers who have joined the payment service.
It should come as no surprise to many individuals in the payment industry that China has been particularly aggressive when it comes to digital payments. Mercator Advisory Group who has written reports on the key players in the space such as WeChat pay and Alipay have highlighted the growing use of these mobile payment providers in China and the differences in mobile payment adoption when compared to the US market. However, the US mobile payments market might start to see some additional traction as more merchants are beginning to accept the new payment method as pointed out by a recent article from the VP of research operations at Mercator Advisory Group, Aaron McPherson.