Yesterday my friend came to visit to wish happy belated birthday, as we didn't have a chance to see each other on that day. We went out to grab some coffee at Starbucks nearby, so I decided to take out my dog Happy for a walk with us. While standing in the line, waiting for my turn,I had this thought that probably for almost a year I haven't really used cash for any payments, I even don't remember when was the last time I had cash in my wallet or where my wallet actually is hahah
Wherever I go it's enough to just bring my phone with me, coz with the help of Wechat and Alipay, where my credit cards are connected to, I can pay for anything I want at any time of the day. I guess cash is not king anymore. I mean, I can pay in restaurants, hotels, shops, taxi, at the market and even in the bus with Alipay or Wechat. I can even rent a bicycle by just scanning a QR code.I can also buy a train or plane tickets via Alipay/Wechat, it's amazing. Carrying cash is not a necessity of life anymore in China.The cellphone-related payment options have brought great convenience, and China definitely the country that leads in this sector in the world.
Just look at the statistics: 95% of shops in Hangzhou and 98% of taxis officially accept Alipay. Person to person payments between in restaurants between customers and owners using either Wechat or Alipay is universally accepted.
I haven't used it myself yet, but I know that now you can also rent such goods as umbrellas and phone chargers throughout the city via Alipay!
I'm also paying for my dog's grooming with it. There are very lazy times when I don't even go grocery shopping but instead order food online through Meituan Wai Mai app and then pay for it using Alipay or Wechat. It seems hard times are over, I just really hope I won't turn into one of those South Park characters with mobility scooters, from Raising the Bar episode LOL.
Do you have mobile payment in your country?What do you think of a Cashless City?