Study on Competition Status and Development of Electronic Payment

Abstract

Since Taobao launched Alipay service in 2013, third-party payment platforms have begun to approach social life. In addition to the basic payment function at the beginning of development, third-party platforms led by Alipay and WeChat have diversified. With various consumption scenes as media, it has created huge economic and social benefits. At present, the third-party payment market has been basically stable, and the two giants jointly monopolize nearly 95% of the market share. WeChat and Alipay give full play to their own strengths, learn from each other's successful experience, and form a temporary balance in the game. However, there are many uncertainties in the seemingly balanced pattern. First, Apple Pay is trying to leverage the market with its user-friendliness and security advantages, with its built-in "Apple fans" and NFC near-field payment technology. Second, the central bank's upcoming launch of the digital RENMINBI also brings more uncertainty: legal digital currency may open up a new blue ocean market, enabling small and medium-sized third-party payment companies to seize the market and dilute the current monopoly. Based on the characteristics of WeChat, Alipay, Apple Pay and the digital currency of the Central Bank, this paper makes a comparative analysis of their competitive advantages, so as to predict the future trend of the third-party payment market and provide feasible suggestions for the transformation of WeChat and Alipay.