Investegation based study on the environment and opportunities of mobile payment services in China

In this paper, we study the environment and opportunities of mobile payment services in China. Firstly, we examine the macro environment, analyzing the government policies and laws, the economic status, the social and cultural trends and the technology evolvement and their effect on the development of mobile payment. Secondly, we study the industrial environment of mobile payment in China with an emphasis on the consumers and merchants sides. Based on an in-depth investigation made in five representative provinces in China, consumers' adoptive attitudes and merchants' participation motives are identified through focus-group interviews, one to one interviews and a large sample telephone survey. And then, the competition advantages of mobile payment services providers and the competitors, including banks and other e-payment services providers, are comprised. Finally, by learning the experiences and lessons from Japan, South Korea and the European and American countries in their development of mobile payment services, suggestions on future development of mobile payment services in China are proposed. The main findings of this study can be summarized as follow: consumers in China have a high demand of mobile payment services in different application fields; merchants show their interests to this new payment tool concerning its convenience, efficiency and huge potential customers; and mobile services operators in China are the most active facilitators of mobile payment services. The future of mobile payment development in China is determined by some key factors: the support from government policy makers, the efforts of mobile services operators and the cooperation among the participants in the industrial chain under the principle of mutual benefits.