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I’m really surprised that the major credit card companies are not jumping into the mobile payment arena(similar to WeChat and Alipay). I think this is the futur
by ggcdn 7y ago
I’m really surprised that the major credit card companies are not jumping into the mobile payment arena(similar to WeChat and Alipay). I think this is the future of consumer transactions.
I spent three months in China, and had 1 opportunity to use my credit card: booking a flight home. Everywhere else, I was out of luck. That forced me to use WeChat wallet and Alipay, and I got to say that the experience was really good. There’s so little friction to spending money and can be used for basically everything in China.
It must be way lower fees for everyone involved as well. I only need to do a single bank transaction for the month(loading my wallet) and then after that it’s just swapping credits. Perhaps that’s why cc companies are reluctant.
- eatbitseveryday 7y agoI was under the assumption WeChat and Alipay use in China for payments were restricted to those with PRC national ID cards (i.e., not foreigners).
- ggcdn 7y agoI think it was in the beginning, and its certainly easier to set up for Chinese citizens. The big hurdle is you needed a Chinese bank account. Alipay now has a Tourpass which is specifically made for foreigners.
- amaccuish 7y agoWeChat now allows you to use your own bank account, you just need to upload a copy of your passport.
- anfilt 7y agoI would rather use cash than mobile payment systems. Especially, those ones.
- bobthepanda 7y agoBeing a mobile payment system like that under Western regulations would be awfully close to a heavily-regulated bank. PayPal, for example, goes to great lengths to specifically stress that it is not a bank and doesn't need to be regulated like one. Honestly, with the chip readers these days also widely accepting NFC payments (Google/Apple/Samsung Pay) I think it'll allow the US to leapfrog WeChat and AliPay by obviating the need for yet another financial middleman.
- jcrben 7y agoCredit card companies make money off the fees, so why would they want to lower them? The pressure for low fees must come from retailers. See also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22277404 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22277404 on the rise of surcharging
- milkytron 7y agoChase tried to do this a few years ago with Chase Pay. It was inconvenient and rarely accepted. Maybe updated PoS terminals will fix where they went wrong (IMO using QR codes), but it’s difficult to get people to switch from a card swipe/tap or phone tap. I think Chase Pay ended up getting cancelled.