In other words, if Beijing wants to gain a detailed picture of people in a particular country, it only needs to ask the Chinese companies whose services those people use. (Just take a look at Facebook in the App Store.) But since 2017, when China introduced a new national intelligence law, China-based companies are also obliged to assist the Chinese government. Apps based in the West, too, collect far more data than they ought to. What user data might that be?Ĭourtesy of Apple, whose App Store now lists the data each app collects, we know Alipay collects information about, among other things, your health and fitness, location, contacts, user content, and search and browsing history. Last month, it emerged that the Chinese government plans to break up Alipay’s parent company, Ant Group, and force Ant Group to turn over user data to a company partly owned by the government. Terrific, many observers and shoppers might say: Innovation is creating an alternative to companies that have been enjoying a near-total grip on the cashless market. By outflanking credit card companies (though they sometimes cooperate with them), Alipay and WeChat Pay seem destined for explosive popularity and growth. For the user, meanwhile, Alipay and WeChat Pay are just as easy to use as plastic cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Although PayPal is often cheaper than credit cards, it’s only available online. Once merchants get started on the apps, chances are they’ll love them because Alipay and WeChat Pay charge far lower merchant fees than credit card companies: 0.55 to 0.6 percent compared to credit card companies’ 1.5 to 3.5 percent. If Beijing wants to gain a detailed picture of people in a particular country, it only needs to ask the Chinese companies whose services those people use.
consumers’ purchases will go through Alipay. And last month, JPMorgan Chase, which is not only an investment bank but also the United States’ leading credit card payment-processing provider, announced it will partner with Alipay to process online purchases on, the online shopping site. Last year, Alipay and WeChat Pay both launched a partnership in Italy with duty-free shop operator Dufry. Launching the service for Chinese residents and visitors in Europe is a shrewd strategy, especially considering that between 20, the number of Chinese tourists abroad nearly tripled to 155 million people. The pandemic meant Alipay got off to a rocky start in the U.K., but in filings last month, the company said its growth opportunities in the United Kingdom and other European countries were “significantly heightened.”Īlipay and WeChat Pay already have around 1 billion users each, primarily in Asian countries. Instead, Barclaycard’s announcement concerned the U.K.’s around 1 million Chinese residents and tourists. The reason the announcement flew under the radar is not many Europeans were using Alipay (which is owned by tech conglomerate Ant Group) or its fellow Chinese archrival, Tencent-owned WeChat Pay.
merchants increase sales from booming Chinese tourism,” announced the credit card firm, which processes nearly half of all credit card transactions in the United Kingdom. “Barclaycard partners with Alipay to help U.K. Two years ago, U.K.-based Barclaycard issued a press release that didn’t get much attention. Convenient payment for coffee, groceries, and other daily items could become a national security risk.
All this creates a lot of data the Chinese government will want access to. Last month, JPMorgan announced it will be partnering with Alipay. Such apps are conquering the world-led by Chinese giants Alipay and WeChat Pay. Imagine if consumers instead used mobile payment apps that charged much lower fees. Paying with plastic is easy, but for merchants, credit cards come with pesky fees.
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