There were 520 million Alipay users in China, or around 37% of the countrys population, in 2017. Alibabas payment unit provides services which allow payments both through computers and through mobile devices.
Across the country, Alipay users in northern province of Shanxi and southwestern province of Guizhou appear to be the most dependent on mobile devices, with mobile payments accounting for 92% of their transactions over the past year.
Over 90% of the transactions made by users in more than 10 different provincial regions were conducted through mobile devices.
The rise of mobile payments has been partly backed by easier access to quick response, or QR codes. More than 40 million small retailers across China, according to Alipay, established their own quick response codes in 2017.
The growth of mobile payments has also partly come from an advance in mobile internet technology. Furthermore, mobile payment is also making inroads into public services in China.
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