China mobile payments continue to rise

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As the cashless transaction tool, mobile payments are gaining popularity in China, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

According to a report released by China’s central bank, the People's Bank of China, Chinese banks dealt with 8.6 billion payments from mobile services in Q2, up 40.5 percent from a year ago. The combined value of mobile payments jumped from 33.8 percent to 39.24 trillion yuan (6 trillion US dollar).

Online transactions through non-bank payment platforms came in at 31.49 trillion yuan, rising 34.9 percent from the same period last year.

In April, Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial said it planned to spend six billion yuan in the next two years to push forward the drive. Following up Alibaba Yu’e Bao’s footsteps, Tencent also test its new service, Lingqiantong, on WeChat Monday to allow users to earn interest from their WeChat balances.

CGTN Photo

Lingqiantong allows users to earn interest off their WeChat balances, Tencent told CGTN, and it gives WeChat users “more incentive to put money, or alternatively, keep money on the platform”.

The rapid growth came as Chinese mobile payment giants have developed user-friendly platforms such as Ali Pay, WeChat Pay to encourage cashless transactions.

According to a report jointly produced by Tencent, the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, and French market research firm Ipsos, 84 percent of Chinese said they are "comfortable" going out with only smart phones, no cash.

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