Mobile wallets evolving into lifestyle platform for Chinese consumers

With enhanced technology, a simple tap is all it takes to pay for purchases these days. Dr Cherry Huang, general manager, cross-border business, Alipay South and South-east Asia, tells Muneerah Bee how the company is expanding its mobile payment services in the region.

Mobile wallets are more than just another tool for finance. They are lifestyle enablers that allow consumers to book taxis, hotels or movie tickets, pay utility bills, hospital fees and more — becoming a one-stop platform for users. Besides reducing long queues, mobile wallets also provide more efficiency to merchants who face space constraints.

Dr Cherry Huang, general manager, cross-border business, Alipay South and South-east Asia, said Alipay views mobile payment as an effective marketing platform that serves as the bridge connecting merchants and Chinese users — no matter where they are based.

Alipay’s globalisation plan consists of cross-border tourism that targets Chinese tourists and driving local wallets. Dr Huang explained: “Alipay works with merchants worldwide to provide easier access to information and offer convenient payment services and experiences for Chinese tourists. As for local wallets, we work with partners to ‘localise’ the Alipay platform to best meet the needs of the different users all around the world — that each local partner Alipay works with is able to meet the inclusive financial needs, and this is the same case for small, micro businesses as well.”

Local partnerships
For example, Alipay’s parent company, Ant Financial, has been actively working with local partners in Singapore, including a partnership with CCPay which has been focused on creating innovative solutions for merchants and serving Alipay users from China travelling around the region.

“Ant Financial has not yet focused on building an e-wallet for local users, as we require some time and resources to develop a locally-tailored platform. We are working on this and at the same time, we applaud the proactive, growth-oriented approach taken by the Singapore government and many leading players in the market. We hope to continue contributing innovative ideas and solutions to the local market in the coming years,” she added.

Additionally, Alipay signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in September this year to enhance Chinese tourists’ overall experience in Singapore. Both parties will also share data and analytics on trends, observed during their travels to Singapore, with tourism industry members. She commented: “This will help the industry better understand and target Chinese consumers with more relevant products and experiences. In addition, both parties will explore co-investment in joint-marketing initiatives for Singapore, with the objective of increasing visit spend via Alipay platforms.”

In the long haul
Dr Huang affirmed that the mobile wallet trend is definitely here to stay, adding: “We foresee mobile wallets becoming Mobile wallets evolving into lifestyle platform for Chinese consumers With enhanced technology, a simple tap is all it takes to pay for purchases these days. Dr Cherry Huang, general manager, cross-border business, Alipay South and South-east Asia, tells Muneerah Bee how the company is expanding its mobile payment services in the region. the norm of the future, with the global appetite forecasted to reach US$2.7 trillion by 2020, according to a study by Global Industry Analysts. Mobile wallets enhance the overall shopping experience, and its ease of usage — such as transferring money and other payment services for everyday lifestyle items — draws a younger crowd in.”

She revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) is also integrated into mobile wallet technology. “Recently, Alipay’s AI developments were being applied on its platform. A chatbot system was built combining cutting-edge machine-learning techniques with the knowledge base created on Alipay to answer questions posed by our Alipay customers,” she shared.

“The percentage of questions that were answered and resolved without a human-fronting service hit 97% last year. In March this year, the chatbot system surpassed human performance in terms of customer satisfaction. Ant Financial has since opened up this chatbot system to its partners — including merchants and financial institutions.”