Cashless future rapidly emerging as the most bankable option
China’s three internet giants have ambitious plans to make mobile payments part of everyday life around the globe
There was a time, not so long ago, when losing your wallet meant panic, inconvenience and most likely huge annoyance at losing the banknotes you had in it. But those days are numbered,
Using hard currency for shopping in mainland China is a dying practice, say experts, with e-payments now very much the norm rather than the exception.
The country is rapidly becoming a cashless society, as are many countries around the world, and it’s Chinese internet giants that are among the most ambitions in making mobile payment services part of everyday life for many.
For Zhao Lirong, a frequent traveller who has made around a dozen trips to various Southeast Asian countries over the past year, using digital payment services at airports and tourist spots has become second nature.
“In the past, travelling to a foreign city meant spending time buying local currency. And of course, you never managed to spend it all, and you were then left with amounts probably too little to exchange back into US dollars – it was a real waste of money,” said Zhao.
She’s visited Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar on business and on holiday in the past year, and now pays for everything using mobile payment apps, such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Baidu Wallet, all of which are Chinese developed.
Travelling to a foreign city meant spending time buying local currency. And of course, you never managed to spend it all, and you were then left with amounts probably too little to exchange back into US dollars – it was a real waste of money