WeChat sees bigger spenders as China goes cashless

Paying for Starbucks using WeChat in China. Photo credit: Tencent.

China’s smartphone owners are way ahead of everyone else on the planet when it comes to paying for things with their phones.

How pervasive is that in every day life? Well, 45 percent of WeChat users pay for things in stores using the messaging app’s wallet feature because they don’t even carry cash. That’s according to a new survey out today from Penguin Intelligence. Not bothering to carry cash is the third reason cited for using WeChat to pay for their Starbucks or the groceries – the speed and ease being the top two factors.

The messaging app’s 900 million monthly active users are spending more than ever using their phones, with larger transactions – of US$73 and above – now much more common than in 2015:

Data: WeChat Social Economic Impact Report.

Supermarkets and convenience stores are the top venues for using WeChat’s wallet feature. Online shopping comes second:

Data: WeChat Social Economic Impact Report.

WeChat’s push into ecommerce and payments has put parent company Tencent on a collision course with Alibaba, which runs China’s top mobile wallet app, Alipay.

While it’s impossible to discern which is winning purely in terms of people paying for things with their phones, WeChat is steaming ahead with its service, which covers both online and in-store payments.

92 percent of people in China’s biggest cities use apps like WeChat or Alipay as their primary payment method, finds the study. Cash comes in second place (39 percent), while debit and credit cards are third.

See: How WeChat Pay became Alipay’s largest rival