Recent Blogs
August 28, 2017
WeChat Pay playing catch-up with Alipay in overseas markets In terms of duration and experience in the mobile payments industry, Alipay can be considered a veteran, having been in the market since 2004. This has allowed Alipay to capitalize on significant first mover’s advantage in China as well as overseas markets. Established in 2013, WeChat Pay is nearly a decade younger than Alipay. However, in mainland China, WeChat Pay has rapidly caught up with Alipay in terms of usage, largely because WeChat Pay was able to creatively integrate mobile payment with its social networking tools. However, WeChat Pay is still […]
August 24, 2017
Traditional banks aware of threat posed by fintech giants WeChat Pay and Alipay For many years, traditional banks have dominated the online payment industry. This was achieved through collaborating with financial services companies such as Visa and Mastercard, which provided these banks with branded payment products for consumers to choose from. In recent years however, the traction gained through novel payment methods made by fintech companies such as Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Alipay have caused banks to rethink their traditional payment modes. During the Rise Conference in Hong Kong, Jing Ulrich, vice chairman Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase acknowledged the […]
August 21, 2017
DBS Bank has started a contactless payment trial with Old Tea Hut, using a phone app called FasTrack. Queuing up time has been cut from 20 to six minutes. Photo: Ernest Chua In late 2014, the Singapore government unveiled plans for Singapore to become a Smart Nation. This entailed harnessing the power of networks, data and info-comm technologies to create economic opportunities and build a closer community. As Singapore ramps up plans to build a Smart Nation, the prospects for mobile payments companies like WeChat Pay, Alipay and Apple Pay appear to be bright. Mobile payments fit into the Smart […]
August 18, 2017
FOMO Pay invited to share payment solutions at this year’s SMEICC The 19th Small and Medium Enterprises Infocomm Commerce Conference (‘SMEICC’) and SME Expo was recently held on 16-17 August 2017 at the Suntec Convention Hall. SMEICC is an annual event organised by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (‘SCCCI’), an organisation with a membership of more than 4,000 companies and over 150 trade associations. The event presented a valuable opportunity for solutions providers like FOMO Pay to share and showcase the latest and newest technology enterprise solutions available for SMEs to utilize. It was also a chance […]
August 17, 2017
Mobile payments: China’s cashless revolution In an earlier report, we highlighted the case study of a Channelnewsasia reporter who experimented living a day in China without cash. The conclusion of that report is that it is indeed very possible to live in China without any physical cash if you have WeChat Pay or Alipay installed on your smart phone. However, while the facilities are there in place to enable a ‘cashless’ lifestyle, just how prevalent are mobile payments in China? In Q1 2017, Chinese consumers spent 18.8 trillion RMB (S$3.84 trillion) via mobile payments last year. This is nearly 50 […]
August 16, 2017
WeChat Pay applies for license to offer local payment services in Malaysia In its latest push to enter international markets, WeChat Pay has applied for a license in Malaysia to offer local payment services. If WeChat Pay’s application is successful, this would symbolize a watershed moment for both Tencent and its WeChat payment app. Although WeChat Pay is currently available in many countries worldwide (including Singapore), overseas users are still unable to pay for goods and services if their WeChat accounts are not linked to a Chinese bank account. Should the Malaysian government accept WeChat Pay’s application, this would mean […]