The total value of cashless transactions in China reached about 16 billion dollars in 2017 and was the highest in the world. Alipay boasts 500 million users, while WeChat Pay may have even 600 million people. The Chinese often use the services of both applications. Together they have over 90%. market share.
For many years, Beijing has been restricting access to its market for foreign competition - Visa or Mastercard. Now, mobile payments are common and Chinese companies have an established position (also the China UnionPay card issuer). Cash payments are becoming problematic. Even the People's Bank of China was concerned, in July it issued a statement that the yuan is an official currency in the PRC and sellers can not refuse to accept cash.
According to the data of the Bank for International Settlements, household debt in relation to GDP increased in China from 17.9%. at the beginning of 2009 to 49.3 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2018. In no other country, the growth rate of household debt was so large. As a result, the statistical Chinese has a higher amount of debt than its annual disposable income.
