Alibaba’s Alipay platform is growing aggressively in the mobile commerce space
Alibaba continues to find success in the mobile payments field. The company’s Alipay platform has become a resounding success in China, where more consumers are participating in mobile commerce. The rise in mobile shopping has to do with growing smartphone penetration. More consumers have access to smartphones and tablets than ever before, and these people are using their devices to shop for and purchase products online and in physical stores.
Alipay has more than 270 million monthly active users that participate in mobile commerce
Alipay now has more than 350 million registered users, with 270 million monthly active users. This makes the platform even more successful than PayPal, which boasts of 162 million active users. Alipay was launched in 2004 and saw relatively little support in its earlier years. As mobile commerce began to gain momentum, however, the platform became very successful among consumers. Merchants have flocked to the platform in order to engage mobile consumers more effectively and have managed to find success in doing so.
Tencent struggles to keep up with Alibaba when it comes to mobile payments
Alibaba’s mobile payments platform does not exist without competition, of course. Tencent, another of China’s largest companies, also holds a position in the mobile commerce market. The company has been working to establish a stronger foothold in the sector, but has failed to keep up with Alibaba, which has managed to attract the support of several Chinese banks and other major retail organizations.
Mobile commerce still represents a small portion of the commerce space
While mobile commerce is growing quickly, it still represents a relatively small portion of the overall commerce market. As consumers become more comfortable with mobile commerce, they will become more likely to use their mobile devices to purchase products, both online and off. There are still some security concerns when it comes to the mobile commerce space, however, which is slowing its adoption. As mobile payments services become more advanced, these concerns are becoming less of an issue.
Alibaba introduces new security feature to its popular Alipay application
Alibaba, one of China’s largest online retailers, has begun working to make mobile payments safer for consumers. The company’s Alipay application has become quite popular with those interested in mobile shopping, but consumers are beginning to express concern over the security of the platform. Because Alipay trafficks a large amount of financial information between consumers and businesses, the application’s ability to protect this information is quite important. In order to ensure that this information is safe, Alibaba has introduced a new feature to Alipay.
Alipay will now be able to scan fingerprints
The Alipay application is now capable of scanning fingerprints when it is used to make a payment. This feature is currently only available on the iOS platform because the latest iteration’s of the iPhone are equipped with biometric technology. This technology allows a mobile device to scan a fingerprint, which adds a new layer of security that is difficult to break through. Alibaba believes that fingerprints could be the key to truly secure mobile payments.
New feature may be well received among mobile shoppers
The new feature will allow users to authenticate a transaction with nothing more than their fingerprint. Transactions made in this way have a limit of $162 per day. If consumers want to spend more than that, they will have to enter in their account information manually as they typically do with Alipay. Financial information is used locally, without uploading any information to a third party. This ensures that the information being sent by a consumer is kept safe.
Demand for secure mobile services continues to rise among consumers and businesses alike
Alibaba has already establish a strong presence in the mobile commerce market. The company is managed to beat competition from others that are looking to establish themselves in the mobile world as well. Increasing the security of the Alipay application may help Alibaba find yet more success in the mobile space. Demand for secure mobile commerce services has been on the rise among consumers for some time.
