Recent Blogs
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 […]
August 14, 2017
FOMO Pay to help more SMEs reach out to mainland Chinese customers with new FOLAH (易码付) service Singapore, August 14, 2017 – Local payments company FOMO Pay enhances its existing services to help small and medium-sized enterprises in Singapore attract mainland Chinese customers. Starting from July this year, merchants without a point of sale (POS) terminal will be able to use FOLAH (易码付) to allow customers to pay via Chinese mobile payment methods such as WeChat Pay and Alipay. FOLAH (易码付) is a QR code based technology that aggregates several payment methods. Each participating retailer will obtain its own unique […]
August 14, 2017
Alipay vs WeChat Pay – A scramble for overseas markets We are all too familiar with the ‘David vs Goliath’ allegory. However, where the clash is between two companies controlling more than 92% of an 18.8 trillion yuan (S$3.84 trillion as at time of writing) mobile payments market in Q1 2017, it becomes more of a ‘Goliath vs Goliath’ type of situation. Despite their market dominance, both WeChat Pay and Alipay are not content with the status quo. Instead, they have been increasingly rolling out new measures through dishing out a slew of incentives (e.g. cash rebates and free bus […]
August 10, 2017
Reaching out to Chinese customers through WeChat: The Success Stories of Two Singaporean Restaurateurs Having grown up in a predominantly English-speaking environment for most of their lives, and being taught school subjects in English, it is no surprise that most younger Singaporeans have grown accustomed to using English as a medium of communication with those around them. Consequently, it is no secret that many Chinese Singaporeans have become less confident of their abilities in the Chinese language. On the other hand, WeChat is an app that emerged from the Chinese market. Therefore, using WeChat effectively would presumably require a certain […]
August 9, 2017
DBS introduces QR code payment for taxis in Singapore From July 27, commuters can pay for their taxi rides through a simple scan of the QR code on the taxi’s cashless payment terminal via the DBS PayLah app. This is available on all 16,000 ComfortDelGro taxis in Singapore. No credit or debit cards are required for the transaction. Launched in 2014, DBS PayLah is a mobile app that functions as a mobile wallet and is Singapore’s leading mobile wallet at 600,000 users. Users have to top up funds into their account in DBS PayLah in order to use it. The […]