Carriers rush to catch the "last train" as the industrial chain works together to break through. The "mobile payment" trend has swept in from overseas, and domestic users have been eagerly awaiting it. By binding a mobile phone to a bank card, all transactions can be completed with just a simple swipe, and the blueprint in users' minds has already taken shape. However, everything is not that simple. Despite the major carriers racing to catch up with mature overseas markets, it must be admitted that China's mobile payment industry still has a long way to go.
On the last day of 2011, a major event occurred in the mobile payment industry: the central bank announced the list of companies that had obtained third-party payment licenses, and the three major carriers - China Mobile (Weibo), China Telecom (Weibo), and China Unicom (Weibo) - were all on the list. This "last train" came at just the right time.
Prior to this, although the three carriers had made moves, there was little progress. In March of last year, China Telecom established "Tianyi E-Commerce Company"; in April, China Unicom's "WoYiFu" completed registration; in July, "China Mobile E-Commerce Company" officially obtained its business license. The process of applying for the license was much more difficult than they had imagined.
After the license was approved, some experts predicted that the mobile payment industry might see an "explosion" in 2012.
Two months have passed, and although the three carriers have not been idle, the speed at which user demand has grown is simply too fast. Users may have already envisioned such a scenario: after binding their mobile phones to their bank cards, all functions such as payment, transfer, and repayment are integrated into one, and all transactions can be completed with just a simple swipe on a POS machine.
However, the reality is that most mobile payments only have remote payment functionality. Behind the carriers' rapid expansion, the payment system that needs improvement and the users' "high standards" are difficult to match for now.
"Small problems" constrain major development
Previously, a domestic carrier launched a service similar to a "mobile wallet," which was quite close to what users had imagined: having POS machine payment functionality, no need to enter a password, convenient and practical. Moreover, the procedures were relatively simple. "After completing the mobile payment service, you can get a card. The backend of the card has an account, and money can be transferred from the account to the 'wallet,' then swiped on the POS machine." An unnamed insider introduced to me. But it has one limitation. "The wallet won't exceed 500 yuan, and if it exceeds 500 yuan, the money in the account must be used." As a small amount payment, this limit cannot be relaxed for now.
Regarding the "mobile wallet," industry expert Qian Xiaolei has a lot to say. Moreover, he himself was once a user who participated in testing. The typical practice of domestic carriers is to attach a film to the credit card, "but it breaks very quickly." After it breaks, the user must pay out-of-pocket to buy a new one. Because he uses a Motorola (Weibo) large-screen phone, his own card was damaged by the back cover. Qian Xiaolei indicated that there are also many restrictions on the phone, "the back cover cannot be metal, and the battery must be greater than a certain number of centimeters."
In addition, domestic mobile payment services are not very stable. Qian Xiaolei introduced that during one payment service processing, the staff earnestly told him, "after getting this card, Wumei can be used, WuMei can be used, public transportation can be used..." After obtaining it, Qian Xiaolei discovered that this was merely a promotional gimmick because most of these functions could not actually be used during operation. When he thought about contacting customer service, it was already too late, "they told me that these services had already stopped promotion, and suggested I return the card quickly. After the refund, the card couldn't be exchanged."
"High standards" hinder carriers
Despite this, mobile payment services have always received significant attention from users. The insider stated that although the carriers' own payment systems are not yet perfect, the growth rate of users is very fast, "the growth rate is about 20% per month, and it's similar nationwide," and the transaction volume continues to rise. There are two reasons for this: one is the smaller base of users; the second is that there are indeed many users interested in mobile payments. However, the "high standards" of users have caused carriers to stumble repeatedly. Since the domestic terminals and applications are not yet a mature market, the overall atmosphere for mobile payments has yet to form.
Currently, the issue that users complain about the most is terminal mismatches. If the terminal does not match the card, it will affect the swiping effect, and the success rate of swiping will be low when users use it, fuel pump. "Users also care about how many occasions mobile payments can be used and how many functions there are." The insider said that considering the specific domestic situation, these issues don't need to be considered for now. Except for the relatively mature bus function, mobile payments are still in the exploration stage for mainstream shopping functions.
Conflict between security and convenience
To realize mobile payments sooner, users have long placed "security issues" as secondary. Qian Xiaolei said, "The biggest problem for users is inconvenience, not security." He once used mobile payment for recharging phone credits, first needing to fill out many things, then receiving a verification text message, confirming... "I can completely go to a newsstand to buy a recharge card, and mobile payment users still need to go to the business hall to get a card." This statement is based on evidence because the security risks of domestic mobile payments are indeed very small. "Since it's a small amount payment, most are below 500 yuan, and over this amount, overdraft is impossible." Qian Xiaolei believes that domestic mobile payments "basically do not have security risks," because the amount is small, and the usage scope is narrow.
For mobile payments, security and convenience are a pair of contradictions. To reduce security risks, domestic operators added many steps during consumption, but Qian Xiaolei said, "The procedures are really too complicated." However, payment security still has loopholes. For example, "mobile wallets," if lost by accident, almost leave no room for recovery. "If lost, a replacement card must be obtained, but someone who finds the phone can still swipe the money inside." Regarding this, Qian Xiaolei has deep feelings, believing that in this regard, "mobile wallets" are somewhat like bus cards, once lost, they cannot be recovered.
Market awaits core "dominator"
The reason why domestic mobile payments face such great resistance is due to too many standards within the industry. Looking at all merchants, almost each merchant has its own standard. "Some make changes on credit cards, some create their own terminals, and others work on SD cards," causing concern is that in this vast market, there lacks a core dominator, and most are "selling goods on the street." Regarding this, Qian Xiaolei said, "No merchant can say this standard is mine, and everyone just follows me to make things." Thus, users begin to waver. After seeing various products through different channels, they also start to "get confused," not knowing what to choose.
Mainstream consumption patterns cannot form, near-field payment standards are not unified, and upstream manufacturers are unable to produce chips and equipment. Currently, the mainstream technical standards are 13.56 MHz and 2.4 GHz. The former's users include China Unicom, China Telecom, UnionPay, while China Mobile chose the latter. The solutions are also complex, including SIM cards, full terminals, SD cards, films, etc.
"The breakthrough team" is not alone
The sole motivation for merchants is: the future is bright. According to Qian Xiaolei's introduction, "In the U.S., some users directly pull out an Android phone when paying. The operation process is also very simple, take the credit card, sign on the phone, and the transaction is complete." "If friends want to split the bill in the future, they just need to take out a phone and swipe it." He indicated that this might be the future direction of mobile payments. Abroad, this mobile card-swiping model is already very mature.
To quicken their pace, operators first need to clarify their own business models. Qian Xiaolei said that for two years, some operators have been unclear about their own businesses, such as distinguishing between mobile payments and "wallets"; they are also hesitant in their operational strategies, such as whether to push or not to push? Or how to push? Some insiders pointed out that the immaturity of the business model and the industrial chain of mobile payment services is a large environment, making it hard to break through in a short period.
But the breakthrough team is not alone, this is not just a war among the three carriers. Qian Xiaolei said that currently, companies dedicated to tackling payment services also include LeShua and LakaLa. LeShua adopts a model of bank card + card reader + a LeShua App phone; while LakaLa can popularize POS machines found in large malls to chain stores, even households, although currently far from mobile payments, the future direction is uncertain.
Mobile payments have become a global hot topic, and the domestic industry status is just starting. There is currently a "disconnection" between users and merchants. "When mobile services first came out, many people signed up, slowly fewer people started signing up," Qian Xiaolei said, indicating that the mobile payment industry has a promising future, and the "fruit-bearing" time should not be too long.
Intern Wang Fang
Status of mobile payment services for the three domestic carriers
China Mobile
Since 2008, China Mobile has been paying attention to third-party payments and attempting to establish a third-party payment platform, and officially established China Mobile Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. in June last year. Currently, China Mobile's mobile payment services are divided into two categories: the first category is mobile payment, which enables remote payment on the phone; the second category is the mobile wallet.
China Mobile's mobile payment services are mainly realized through a professional client software launched by China Mobile Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. Users can use the payment client on their phones to access comprehensive mobile payment services provided by China Mobile, such as paying phone bills, receiving and sending payments, living expenses payments, order payments, etc., providing users with a mobile payment experience anytime, anywhere, while ensuring the security and convenience of user transactions.
According to relevant sources, after launching the mobile payment wallet, China Mobile introduced many applications. Last year, the service covered more than 40 cities, with transaction amounts approaching 1 billion yuan in the first half of the year, monthly transaction amounts reaching over 40 million yuan, and user scale reaching 40 million.
China Telecom
Established in March last year, Tianyi E-Commerce Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary invested and formed by China Telecom, covering areas such as mobile payments, fixed-network payments, and points payments. The products of Tianyi E-Commerce Co., Ltd. mainly rely on their own accounts and third-party associated accounts (including bank accounts and quasi-financial accounts such as transportation cards), providing users with payment services both nearby and remotely through various channels such as the Internet, mobile phones, fixed telephones, IVR self-service voice, IPTV, public telephone information booths, and self-service terminal service machines.
"Yi Payment" is the mobile payment service that China Telecom is currently promoting, utilizing RFID near-field radio frequency communication technology to achieve mobile card swiping, mobile commuting, and other payment functions. Starting from May last year, Beijing residents could use a special RFID mobile UIM card to organically integrate China Telecom's 3G mobile communication functions and municipal transportation card swiping functions on this mobile card, allowing them to easily swipe their phones to ride buses and subways, merchants to swipe cards for consumption, network electronic wallet top-ups, and air-top-up services for mobile electronic wallets.
China Unicom
As early as the end of 2010, China Unicom's mobile payment services were officially commercialized in four cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing, and gradually promoted in other provinces and cities across the country. In April 2011, China Unicom Payment Company (Woyifupay Network Technology Co., Ltd.) obtained its business license, and in December last year, the company obtained the domestic third-party payment license. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Unicom, Woyifupay has a registered capital of 250 million yuan, and its business covers Internet payments, mobile payments, and bank card collection and other payment services.
China Unicom's mobile payment services adopt the SIMpass mobile payment technology provided by Goqi Company. This technical solution mainly has two forms: one is the "SIM + antenna" "pigtail card," where users do not need to change their phones but need to replace their SIM cards at the business hall; the other is the customized phone solution, where the antenna is integrated into the phone and does not require an external antenna, requiring users to change their phones. It is understood that the mobile payment account and the communication account are independent. That is, after users register for mobile payment services, they will have two accounts, with a maximum recharge limit of 1,000 yuan for the mobile payment account.
Intern Wang Fang
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