Alipay (left) and WeChat (right) QR payment codes are displayed at a market in Shanghai. The Chinese consumer buy-in is so complete that many merchants today only grudgingly accept cash. — AFP
SHANGHAI: The most essential item in aircraft engineer Tao Rui’s possession during a recent outing in Shanghai was the Alipay smartphone app from Ant Group, a company little known outside China until it unfurled plans for the biggest IPO in history.
As Tao and a friend strolled the city at the weekend, he used Alipay to buy a cup of milk tea, a deep-fried octopus snack and a box of candy. He also used it to play a basketball game at an arcade, make a small donation to a street musician, and produce a health code signalling he was coronavirus-free before entering a Buddhist temple.
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Alipay (left) and WeChat (right) QR payment codes are displayed at a market in Shanghai. The Chinese consumer buy-in is so complete that many merchants today only grudgingly accept cash. — AFP
An Alipay QR payment code is seen at a market in Beijing. The Chinese consumer buy-in is so complete that many merchants today only grudgingly accept cash. — AFP
At restaurants, grocery stores and cafes, and when buying fruits and vegetables from a streetside peddler, purchases across China are routinely made by consumers old and young with a quick QR code scan. — AFP
A woman waits next to an Alipay advertising billboard at a bus stop in Beijing. — AFP
A customer scans the Alipay QR payment code at a market in Shanghai. — AFP
An Alipay QR payment code is displayed in front of a vendor at a market in Shanghai. — AFP
Ant Group’s super-sized ambitions also include forays into personal finance that have put traditional Chinese banks on notice by offering easy access to a range of financial services including consumer credit, small-business loans and money-market funds. — AFP
A woman walks past an Alipay advertising billboard in a subway in Beijing. — AFP
