Over twenty years after the first credit card was launched in China, and six years since the Chinese banks were unified in under a nationwide network, online payments is finally starting to catch on in China. Home to what are already one of the largest online populations in the world, at over 220 million users, China is a market ripe with potential for online payment services, but for those interested in entering the market, a number of unique challenges remain.

Table of Content:

1 Introduction to Online Payment in China
1.1 China’s 50-year late start
1.2 Market Potential by Large Numbers
1.3 Nuances and Challenges of Online Payment in China
1.3.1 Consumers' Continued Preference for Cash Payments
1.3.2 Credit Card Use Remains Low, POS Terminals Limited
1.3.3 Online Payment Restrictions for Debit Card Users
1.3.4 Grey Skies for Government Regulations

2 The China Online Payment Market Today
2.1 How to Build a Payments Network from Scratch?
2.1.1 Leveraging Cash-based Systems for Online Payments
2.2 Top Online Payment Companies to Look Out For
2.2.1 Alipay
2.2.2 Tenpay
2.2.3 99Bill
2.2.4 IPS
2.2.5 YeePay
2.3 China Online Payment Users: by the numbers
2.4 China Online Payment Merchants: by the numbers

3 Opportunities and Challenges for Online Payments in China
3.1 Alipay and Tenpay: They Might be Giants…
3.2 How to Compete with Zero Fees?
3.3 Market Consolidation and Payment Licenses
3.4 New Channels for Online Payment: Mobile Phones

4 Appendices
4.1 China Bank Cards Explained
4.2 China Online Payment Company Headquarters
4.3 China Online Payment Provider Bank Partners
4.4 China Online Payment Foreign Credit Card Partners
4.5 Multiple Payment Channels for China Payment Companiesa

List of Tables

NA

List of Figures

Figure 1: China's Late Start: Banking and e-Commerce Milestones, 1950-2008
Figure 2: Internet Users in China, 2001-2007 (M)
Figure 3: Bank Cards in Circulation in China, 2002-2007 (M)
Figure 4: Credit Cards Circulating in China and in the US, 2007 (M)
Figure 5: ATMs in China and US 2005-2007, (per 1 Million People)
Figure 6: ICBC Online Payment Password Card
Figure 7: China Government Groups Involved in Third-party Payment Regulation
Figure 8: Alipay and China Post Cash Remittance Form
Figure 9: China Mobile Prepaid Card
Figure 10: Alipay Transaction Volume Breakdown (%)
Figure 11: Tenpay Transaction Volume Breakdown (%)
Figure 12: China Online User Income Distribution, 2007 (RMB per Month)
Figure 13: China's Online Payment Registered Users, 2003-2007 (M)
Figure 14: Third-party Payment Provider Registered User Breakdown, 2007 (M)
Figure 15: Merchant Partners, 2007 by Tier (%)
Figure 16: Different types of Bankcards in China
Figure 17: Shenzhen Development Bank Credit Cards
Figure 18: Co-branded Debit Cards: Alipay Dragon Card and Taobao Green Card
Figure 19: China Online Payment Company Headquarters
Figure 20: China Online Payment Provider Bank Partners
Figure 21: China Online Payment Provider Foreign Credit Card Partners
Figure 22: China Online Payment Provider Key Domestic Credit Card Partners
Figure 23: Multiple Payment Channels for China Payment Companies