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Digitimes Research: Third-party service providers dominate mobile payment service market in China

Benson Wu, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei

Mobile payments outside financial institutions in China expanded to CNY8.24 trillion (US$1.299 trillion) in 2014 from the CNY1.19 trillion a year earlier, with third-party e-payment service providers accounting for 90.9% of mobile transactions, according to Digitimes Research.

China-based telecom carriers, which now account for less than 10% of the mobile payment market in China, will try to regain their leading market position in the segment by optimizing NFC payment chains available within telecom networks, Digitimes Research indicated.

However, a lack of successful business model and the homogenization of services provided by telecom carriers have impeded the growth of carriers' mobile payment businesses, said Digitimes Research.

On the other hand, Alipay under the Alibaba Group has seen the number of its mobile payment accounts and mobile payment revenues continue to hit new records. Alipay is expected to continue to serve as the top vendor in the mobile payment segment in China for the next few years as the vendor has continued to expand its business operations through acquisitions, offering subsidies to its users, and strengthening its mobile payment patent portfolio, Digitimes Research commented.