New research by UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance show that Alipay and WeChat Pay enabled a total of $2.9 trillion in digital payments in China last year.
The research shows that digital finance has dramatically increased economic activity and e-commerce in China. Alipay and WeChat payments have risen from transactions of around $81 billion in 2012 to a staggering estimation of $2.9 trillion in 2016.
The report highlights that the government has been actively looking to boost financial inclusion and growth, and the role of digital payments are a pivotal focus for the increase. Fintechs and payment services have bolstered the financial services industry to improve economic opportunity for both the everyday consumer as well as businesses.
It is reported that Alipay and WeChat command a 63% market share in digital payments across china and are actively looking to drive innovation for financial services in new geographies.
In 2015, non-cash payments accounted for nearly 60% of retail transactions in China. For all the non-cash payments, Alipay and WeChat payments captured 28% of all the retail transactions fees. Digital payments have grown drastically in China from about 3.5% of all retail transactions in 2010 to around 17% in 2015.
The report highlights how the two companies together have dominated the digital payments space in China and have accelerated the growth in digitizing payments over the past few years.
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