A survey of 65,000 mainland Chinese consumers has found that mobile payment penetration continues to rise.
According to a report by state-owned news agency Xinhua, the survey from China UnionPay and 17 commercial banks and payment institutions found that 98% of those surveyed listed mobile payment as their preferred payment option – an increase of five percentage points over the past 12 months.
There was also a six percentage point increase in those who use QR code payment options to 85%, while 30% of respondents use livestream shopping as opposed to in-person shopping options.
The growing popularity of mobile payment options comes after former US President Donald Trump last month signed an executive order banning eight Chinese apps, including WeChat Pay and Alipay.
The order, which is yet to come into effect and may not do so should newly inaugurated President Joe Biden opt to reverse it, would see all transactions between US-based people or companies and the eight apps banned. It would also compel the likes of Apple and Google to remove the apps from their US app stores.
