The former monopolist China UnionPay innovation to meet the challenge

Absrtact: With new payments such as micro-credit payments and Alipay, China UnionPay, the monopolist of China's payment industry, is introducing innovative varieties to meet the challenge. March 29, China UnionPay's UnionPay business launched the category Square's mobile phone card reader

With new payments such as micro-credit payments and Alipay, China UnionPay, the "monopoly" of China's payment industry, is launching a variety of innovative varieties to meet the challenge.

March 29, China UnionPay's UnionPay business launched the category Square's mobile phone card reader "a box of treasure." Before that, it launched a mini-pay product.

It remains to be seen whether the response to a slightly "sluggish" payment company can be successfully "reversed".

"In the mobile payment market, UnionPay certainly competes with operators and Internet companies, and the nature of the business itself determines that it is not their opponent and has no advantage." "Guotai chief economist, former UnionPay chief researcher Lintseyi 2nd to this newspaper that the UnionPay business is the most affected by the bank card fee reduction, because this is its most core source of profit, on the contrary, commercial banks are less affected." And the operator pushes the mobile payment not to make money in the payment, only wants to increase the customer stickiness, but pays is the UnionPay business most important profit path, does the movement pays the input and the income, is not proportional to the UnionPay.

Market Reverse Force transformation

"A Box of treasure" and box payment, such as mobile phone card reader principle is the same, known as the Chinese version of Square. Square, a mobile payment company that became popular overnight in the United States, topped 10 billion dollars in annual deals in 2012.

Box Payment founder Hansen 1st to this newspaper that the box payment and "a box of treasure" general, he used "marriage" to describe the relationship between the two, "both hardware and software can be common." China UnionPay is a strategic partner for box payment, and the box pays for the technical support of UnionPay, which provides its payment channel for box payment. ”

"A box of treasure" into the phone's headphone hole, install the software, the mobile phone will become a self-service swipe machine. Support the mainstream smartphone, can be completed water, electricity and other public utility fees and credit card repayment, ticket ordering, online shopping payment, transfer and other payment business.

Market changes or the main reason for the restructuring of the UnionPay. In February this year, the NDRC cut bank card processing fees, the central bank data show, such as the 2012-year credit card consumption as the benchmark, the lower rate so that commercial banks, China UnionPay and other bank card industry all the credit card processing fee income reduced by more than 7.5 billion yuan.

"This will slow the growth of the UnionPay business, so UnionPay must speed up the layout of other businesses and hedge the loss of profits from the rate cuts through the rapid growth in innovation business." "A senior person in the pay industry said.

In the payment of Alipay, such as third-party payment platform in the area of internet payment gongchenglvede to seize the market, UnionPay until 2011 to "Wake Up" and launched "UnionPay online payment", bypassing the traditional bank of the net, without opening online banking can be paid.

After UnionPay began to layout mobile payments.

UnionPay's ambition to pay for mobile payments is not limited to mobile terminals, but UnionPay has also launched a "flash payment" in NFC (near-field payments). With the "flash" function of the financial IC card or UnionPay mobile payment products, in support of the "flash pay" of the payment terminals, easy to quickly pay. At present, the domestic acceptance of "flash payment" terminal more than 1.1 million units.

Is the future without the card?

Although UnionPay has an innate kinship with the bank, the major commercial banks as UnionPay shareholders are also comparable in the mobile payment field.

China Merchants Bank first issued the "China Merchants Bank mobile wallet" last year, providing a mobile payment service with a combined bank card and mobile phone. According to the annual report, as at the end of 2012, the mobile phone bank signed customers have reached 9.66 million, an increase of 115%, mobile phone payments accumulated transactions 57.79 million, year-on-year growth of 435%; the cumulative transaction amount of 10.8 billion yuan, an increase of 347%.

Pudong Development Bank is further, the introduction of China Mobile as a strategic investor. Pudong and China Mobile phone payment in the field of Cross-border integration, the first to complete NFC-SWP mobile phone payment product development, the two sides to achieve some channels, outlets and customer share. 2012 Pudong mobile phone bank customers up to 1.24 million households, electronic channel transactions accounted for up to 79%.

Minsheng Bank's mobile phone bank launched later, July 11, 2012, but its features are small micro-enterprise customer mobile banking, with centralized account management, large transfer, payroll, corporate finance room features. As at the end of 2012, Minsheng Mobile banking customers reached 990,000, the annual cumulative transaction amount of 41 billion yuan.

In addition to joint-stock commercial banks, the traditional four state-owned banks are not to be outdone. In the case of ICBC, its annual report shows that at the end of 2012, its mobile banking clients had surpassed 74 million households, up 54.5% from the end of last year and nearly 16 times times the annual turnover. Bank of China's mobile banking customers at the end of 2012 had 41.82 million households, up 145% year-on-year.

and UnionPay in the traditional retail channels laid a large number of POS payment channels, or to seize the mobile payment market is an important tool. "This is the advantage of UnionPay, not just the banks, but also the third-party payment companies." Alipay launched a free bank link to quickly pay the bill function is to break through this limit. Said the payment industry insiders.

At present, the profit prospect of all kinds of payment innovation still has a big uncertainty. At present, the progress of UnionPay's mobile payment in multiple trials does not seem to be significant. "Perhaps the card reader is just a transition phase and ' no card ' is the future of mobile payments," the person said. ”

The choice is ultimately in the hands of consumers.