China is heading fast towards a cashless society. The immense adoption and use of smartphone apps that provide mobile-payment services for buying goods and services have transformed how payments are made, eliminating the need to carry cash and reducing the dependence on credit and debit cards, which are already close to scarce in China. Easy access to smartphones and lack of alternative non-cash payment options, low penetration of credit cards and tedious debit card payment process that includes authentication via messages and codes, have led to the growth of online payments in the country.

This cashless payment revolution is expected to continue and grow, thus impacting the way businesses function, consumers shop, and China’s economy rolls.