Tag Archives: UnionPay

FINANCE: WeChat Sips with Starbucks; Alipay in Europe, Australia

Bottom line: Starbucks’ selection of WeChat before Alipay for in-store electronic payments is a symbolic victory for the former, while Alipay’s aggressive global expansion could eventually help it to overtake UnionPay outside China.

WeChat ties with Starbucks

China’s two leading mobile payments services are both in the headlines, led by word of a major new tie-up between Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat and coffee lifestyle titan Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX). I have to admit that my interest in this particular tie-up is somewhat personal, as I’m a big fan of both of these companies and have been waiting a long time for such a partnership.

But equally significant is the fact that Starbucks chose WeChat before archrival Alipay. That same Alipay is in a couple of its own headlines, both showing how it’s trying to expand abroad to compete with China’s other major electronic payments system, the state-owned UnionPay. One of those headlines has Alipay in a new tie-up in Australia, while the other has it announcing partnerships with four major financial companies to expand its footprint in Europe. Read Full Post…

FINANCE: PayPal Edges Closer to China with UnionPay Tie-Up

Bottom line: A new global tie-up between UnionPay and PayPal could auger another alliance by the end of the year that would allow the US company to launch a domestic electronic payments service in China by the end of this year.

PayPal in tie-up with UnionPay

In what must certainly be one of the slowest marches to China of all time, US electronic payments giant PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) has just formed a tie-up with UnionPay, operator of China’s largest electronic transactions settlement network. On reading the headline I thought that PayPal had finally cracked the market for domestic transactions in China, following more than a decade of trying to enter the lucrative business. But it turns out the new tie-up only covers cross-border transactions and is mostly for UnionPay’s benefit, meaning PayPal is still being locked out of the domestic China market. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: September 15-19, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 15-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • WuMart Joins Bidding for China McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), 3 Groups Submit Bids (Chinese article)
  • PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) Reaches Deeper Into China With UnionPay Partnership (English article)
  • Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Investigates Potential Autopilot Link in Fatal China Crash (English article)
  • China or India Next on Pokemon Go Roadmap – Reports (Chinese article)
  • Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) Unexpected Changes Chief, Danone (Paris: DANO) Plays Bigger Role (Chinese article)

FINANCE: Xiaomi, Huawei Try E-Payments; UnionPay Thrives in US

Bottom line: UnionPay’s announcement that its cards are usable at nearly all US ATMs shows it is targeting local US customers, while stiff competition will limit the success of new Xiaomi and Huawei e-payment services.

UnionPay makes big gains in US

It’s been a busy week for Chinese companies in the electronic payments headlines, with 3 major names making big moves in the space. Leading the pack is industry stalwart UnionPay, China’s equivalent of MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V), which is saying its own credit cards are now accepted by an impressive 80 percent of US merchants. The other headlines are coming from smartphone makers Huawei and Xiaomi, which have announced roll-outs for China-based electronic payment services that will compete with other similar products from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Samsung (Seoul: 005930). Read Full Post…

China News Digest: September 2, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) Launches Teavana Brand in China (English article)
  • China Approves NXP (Nasdaq: NXP) Sale of Standard Products Unit to Chinese Group (GlobeNewswire)
  • Over 80 Pct of Merchants in the US Accept UnionPay Credit Cards (Press release)
  • 58.com (Nasdaq: WUBA) Rolls Out Long Work Day, Overtime Plan, Workers Quit (Chinese article)
  • JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) Gets Wholly-Owned Asset Management License in China (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

INTERNET: Alibaba Pushes Cloud, Finance Outside China

Bottom line: New global initiatives by Alibaba’s cloud and electronic payments affiliates look smart by targeting Chinese customers abroad, but may only stand a 50-50 chance of longer-term success due to fierce global competition.

AliCloud global expansion moves ahead

Following lackluster results for initiatives involving its core e-commerce business outside China, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is pushing ahead on the global stage with new moves for 2 of its other areas with big growth potential. One of those has the company unveiling a global strategy for its cloud services unit, AliCloud, which includes a tie-up with former Taiwan smartphone superstar HTC (Taipei: 2498). The other involves Alibaba’s Ant Financial affiliate, which is rolling out its core Alipay electronic payments service in Europe. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Baidu Challenges Beijing with Economic Indexes

Bottom line: Baidu’s new move into economic indexes looks like a smart use of big data but is also risky due to potential interference from Beijing, and stands a 30-40 percent chance of becoming a significant revenue source.

Baidu gets into index business

When it comes to economic indexes in China, Beijing holds a strong lock over the market due to its unique ability to collect the necessary data needed to compile broad national snapshots. But there’s also a political element to the story due to the sensitivity of economic growth and issues like unemployment. That makes leading search engine Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) decision to enter the business look both savvy and also slightly risky. But if Beijing doesn’t interfere, the plan looks like a potential new revenue source that would also raise Baidu’s profile by taking advantage of its mountains of big data. Read Full Post…

BANKING: UnionPay Takes on Visa, MasterCard in US

Bottom line: UnionPay’s move into the dollar-denominated US credit card market looks smart strategically, but is likely to fail due to clumsy execution and fierce competition from Visa and MasterCard. 

UnionPay issues first US credit cards

Watch out, Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA). China’s UnionPay is taking on this global pair of credit card giants on their home turf, with word that the Chinese company will launch its first US-based card in partnership with ICBC (NYSE: 1398; Shanghai: 601398), China’s biggest bank.

Of course I’m being just a bit facetious here, since UnionPay’s first-ever US credit card will have to overcome huge obstacles to ever become a serious rival to local cards from Visa, MasterCard or American Express (NYSE: AXP). But I have to at least commend UnionPay for taking the offensive, since it’s likely to face a major assault on its own home turf later this year when Beijing finally opens the Chinese credit card market to foreigners. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: April 28, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on April 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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    • Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Stumbles in China as Local Phone Makers Head Up-Market (English article)
    • ICBC (HKEx: 1398) Launches First Chinese Credit Cards in US with UnionPay (English article)
    • Alibaba-Disney (NYSE: DIS) Partnership Is Frozen in China After Just 5 Months (English article)
    • Movie Ticket Booking Platform Weiying Shidai Wins 3 Bln Yuan Series C+ Funding (English article)
    • Yintech (Nasdaq: YIN) Falls Flat in US Debut as Chinese Peers Seek De-listing (English article)
    • Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

 

FINANCE: Visa, AmEx Follow Apple Into China with UnionPay Tie-Ups

Bottom line: Vague new tie-ups by UnionPay with Visa and American Express could be followed soon by deals that could finally allow the US financial giants to offer yuan-based credit card services in China using UnionPay’s network.

Visa, UnionPay in new strategic tie-up

Just a week after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) launched its Apple Pay service in China, fellow US financial giants Visa (NYSE: V) and American Express (NYSE: AXP) have just announced their own new China tie-ups with the same local partner. That partner, UnionPay, has been eager to announce a growing string of alliances with major foreign financial partners, all of whom are eagerly eyeing its status as monopoly operator of China’s only network for settling domestic financial transactions.

In this case the new separate strategic tie-ups between UnionPay and Visa and UnionPay and AmEx look mostly superficial, since the US giants clearly have far more to offer than their Chinese peer in terms of technology and experience. But Visa and AmEx are probably hoping the tie-ups could serve as a spring-board to accelerate their drive into China, as each eagerly awaits a license to offer domestic payment services in the country. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: February 26, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Visa (NYSE: V) Signs MOU with China UnionPay (English article)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Announces Q4 and Fiscal Year Results (PRNewswire)
  • China to Launch Commercial 5G Service in 2020 – MIIT (Chinese article)
  • NetEase Reports Q4 and Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
  • Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Open 30 China Stores, Upgrade 60, Build up Cross-Border E-Commerce (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)