Below are the payment platforms most used by the Chinese community:

Alipay
Alipay is an online payment platform launched in 2004 in China by the Alibaba Group, the international giant of e-commerce, which has also integrated physical store payments for some time now. The platform is similar to other digital wallets, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Alipay requires the association to one or more cards to pay.

Alipay today has 1.3 billion users worldwide who profit from over 100 services included in the app, such as instant credit, installment payments, and cash back. Alipay and the entire Alibaba group are investing in integrations between online and offline, offering new retail solutions, available on the different platforms owned by Alibaba (Alipay, Tmall-Taobao, Fliggy, Weibo), to facilitate the sale of long-distance products or through click&collect.

WeChat Pay
WeChat Pay is the digital wallet introduced by WeChat, the Chinese messaging app born in 2011 and owned by the giant Tencent (a company that operates in different sectors, from entertainment to smartphones) that today can count on over 1.3 billion users. Very similar to other digital wallets available on the market, the WeChat ecosystem also offers its users different services, including a marketplace accessible by other companies that can develop specific apps.

China UnionPay
China UnionPay, also simply called UnionPay, is the top 3 of the most used payments in China and among the Chinese community in the world. Unlike Alipay and WeChat Pay, however, it is not a digital wallet. China UnionPay is in fact the only issuer authorized to process card payments in the People’s Republic of China.

Until the end of 2021, UnionPay has managed 93% of card payments in China and 45% worldwide. In recent years UPI accelerated its presence in multiple markets, expanding its global acceptance network. According to their data, today more than 190 million cards have been issued in over 70 countries, and 13 million new cards have been issued in 2022.

These platforms are widely used by the entire Chinese population globally.