New Zealand exporters are expected to benefit from a home-developed payment platform for Chinese consumers using the eWallet technology of Alibaba and WeChat.
Latipay’s agreements with the two Chinese companies means Chinese customers from this week can pay for New Zealand products in yuan, while the sellers receive New Zealand currency. In the beta-test, customers click a button when ordering online to pay in yuan via their chosen mobile payment platform or Chinese bank rather than using a credit card.
Latipay chief executive Leigh Flounders says only a quarter of China’s population has a credit card, with cards being used for just 12 per cent of online purchases. Meanwhile, mobile payment platforms such as Alibaba’s AliPay and WeChat’s Tencent are used for 40 per cent of China’s online transactions.
“It’s critical for New Zealand businesses to understand there is no point offering a credit-card facility for Chinese consumers.”
Flounders says exporters and education providers understand this because of dissatisfaction at merchant level. “It’s so frustrating for them. We are solving a problem and opening up a market that is just dying to interact.”
Because of Chinese compliance rules, the platform is targeted at exporters, tourism and education businesses. It has just surpassed 800 registered and verified users, says Flounders.
Latipay guarantees transactions so merchants can ship goods before payment, which can take between two and three business days to clear.
Flounders says Chinese consumers in New Zealand can also use the platform as Latipay partners with such major banks as the Commercial Bank of China and the China Construction Bank.