Tag: tencent

People’s Bank of China may revise caps placed on mobile payments

| March 27, 2014

Regulations spark backlash from businesses and consumers interested in mobile commerce

The People’s Bank of China has announced that it is considering revising the caps it has placed on mobile payments. This comes as response to backlash from consumers and Internet firms alike, claiming that the caps placed on mobile payments were unnecessary and inappropriate. The caps were introduced as part of new regulations proposed by the People’s Bank of China. These regulations were meant to provide consumers and businesses with more security in the mobile commerce field while also introducing new standards to the mobile sector.

Regulations had placed caps on the amount of money consumers could spend through their mobile devices

The proposed regulations would have placed a cap on payments made from a mobile device to $1,630 per year, with an $800 cap on any single purchase made through a mobile device. These caps are considered to limit the mobile commerce sector significantly, making it difficult for retailers to engage consumers that are becoming more reliant on their mobile devices. Large companies with a vested interest in the mobile commerce field, such as Alibaba, have taken issue with the caps placed on mobile payments by the People’s Bank of China.

China is a prominent market for mobile commerce

China Mobile Payments and Chinese BankChina has become one of the most active mobile commerce markets in the world. The country is home to both Alibaba and Tencent, which have a powerful presence in the digital space. Both companies have been focusing more heavily on mobile commerce in recent months in order to accommodate the growing demand for mobile services coming from consumers. These consumers have become quite active in mobile commerce as well and have criticized the caps being placed on their ability to pay for products from mobile devices.

People’s Bank of China may remove the caps being placed on mobile purchases through new regulations

The People’s Bank of China is currently looking into revisions to its proposed regulations. These revisions would include either removing or reducing the cap being placed on mobile payments. Doing so would allow consumers and businesses to continue focusing on the mobile commerce space more aggressively in the future.

Tencent shows support for mobile commerce retailer Maimaibao

| March 24, 2014

Retailer finds success by engaging with mobile consumers in non-metropolitan areas

Maimaibao, a Chinese online retail firm, has announced that it has received funding from several large organizations within China, including Tencent. The amount of funding the firm has received has not yet been revealed, but speculation suggests that it is somewhere around the $100 million mark. Maimmaibao has attracted attention for not being a typical online retailer. Instead of targeting consumers in large cities, it focuses on non-metropolitan areas where Internet access is not necessarily reliable. Notably, the firm has seen a great deal of mobile activity in these parts of China.

Feature phones can also participate in mobile shopping, even without access to a fast Internet network

The retailer manages to engage consumers where Internet access is lacking through its mobile website. This website is particularly accommodating to feature phones that only have access to 2G wireless networks. Many Chinese consumers that have these types of mobile devices live and work in places where they do not have access to a PC, making their phones a valuable shopping tool. Maimaibao has managed to find significant success in making itself open to these consumers, and this has attracted the attention of Tencent.

Tencent continues to fight for dominance in the mobile commerce space

Mobile Commerce SupportTencent is one of China’s largest Internet organizations and it has begun to focus quite heavily on mobile commerce. Tencent is working to establish a dominant presence in the mobile commerce space through its WeChat application and various other ventures. The company is currently clashing with Alibaba, which has also begun working to engage mobile consumers more aggressively in recent months. Tencent may be able to achieve its goals of mobile dominance by aligning itself with Maimaibao.

Maimaibao aims to develop new smartphone for its primary demographic in China

Maimaibao will use the funding it has received to develop a new smartphone under its Big Q brand name. This mobile device is meant to provide the company’s chief demographic — those living in non-metropolitan areas of China — with a mobile device that has more capabilities than typical feature phones.