Asia is a huge market, comprising some of the world’s largest economies with a densely populated and diverse online payment market. E-wallets are major players in the region, while credit and debit cards, bank transfers and Cash on Delivery are the next most preferred online payment methods.
For example, the slow adoption of credit cards in China (expected to grow from 16% in 2014 to 44% in 2025) has led to other methods being used for online purchases. In particular, Alipay is the most popular payment system in the region with more than 400 million users.
Since users’ payment preferences tend to vary from country to country, there is a wide range of payment methods to cover the entire Asian region. We’ve made it easy with our Gate2Asia solution.
Countries in the Asia Pacific region have become one of the biggest drivers of e-commerce progress. According to statistics, the e-commerce sector in the region accounts for $2.24 trillion of the $3.54 trillion global e-commerce turnover in 2019.
This growth is expected to continue, with the Asia-Pacific region’s market share reaching $3.001 trillion by 2021.
Popular payment methods in China
China, the world’s largest e-commerce market, accounted for $1.93 trillion in global transactions in 2019. Even though the turnover is more than three times that of the U.S. market, there is still room for growth in China’s e-commerce market. China is expected to continue to grow, posting double-digit growth in the sector annually through 2021.
Despite the relatively low use of payment cards compared to other countries, China’s broad Internet coverage and high smartphone use by Chinese consumers, combined with the popularity of mobile payment platforms such as WeChat, are driving strong mobile commerce sales. Making up just over $1 trillion or 52% of China’s total e-commerce sales in 2019, China’s mobile commerce could reach $2.236 trillion by 2021.
The most popular payment methods in China are Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay.
Payment card use in China remains low, but debit and credit card payments are projected to grow from 16% in 2014 to 44% in 2025. UnionPay, also known as China UnionPay or CUP, is the main card scheme in mainland China.
More than 400 million users prefer alternative payment platforms to cards. Mobile payments are very popular in China. The market is divided between Alipay, China’s most popular online payment system, with a share of 54%, and WeChat Pay, a mobile payment service and digital wallet that holds just under 40%.
The popularity of mobile apps in the Chinese market is due in no small part to their ability to combine elements of social interaction, financial insights, relevant advertising and the ease of making payments within a single ecosystem.
Alipay is a Chinese payment method developed by Alibaba Group. Alipay works as a digital wallet that allows customers to make transactions directly from their mobile devices.
This payment method covers more than half of all online transactions in China, making it the most popular online payment service in the entire Asian region. Alipay is supported by China’s national banks and is available in different currencies.
WeChat Pay is the fastest growing payment method in China. WeChat Pay is part of the WeChat ecosystem, which includes a social network, a collaboration tool and a commercial platform combined into one. WeChat Pay works on desktop devices, mobile devices and stores. Transactions are made in-app through an official WeChat account as well as through a built-in web browser.
UnionPay is the world’s largest card scheme in terms of the number of cards issued.
Popular payment methods in China
Alipay
WeChat Pay
UnionPay
Bank transfers