In today’s modern world, online system of payment have gained wild popularity with people being able to send and receive payments through the tips of their fingers. Not only business but most personal transactions too rely on online payment method.
Electronic payment systems are fast, efficient and secure means of transferring funds and are of great advantage, especially in the countries with large economies. PayPal is one such online payment platform which provides a secure and easy way to pay and get paid. Many countries have been using PayPal as their major source of online transactions for years.
China is, however, relatively new to this platform and has been introduced very recently to PayPal as a means of transferring money. Although the start was late, the country is quickly picking up the pace with the number of users gradually increasing with time.
Anyone in China with a Chinese bank account can get started with PayPal for both business and personal use.
PayPal and China (What’s the Latest Update)
While many corporations and individuals across the globe were fast to adopt PayPal as a means of sending and receiving payments, it was only since 2021 that China also welcomed it in its country. It was very recently that PayPal acquired GoPay, a Chinese licensed payment company originally known as Guofubao Information Technology Co. Ltd, to become the first foreign payment company with a domestic payment license. The acquisition was completed in December 2020 when and PayPal acquired the 30% stake it didn’t already own in GoPay.
Speculations have constantly been going on as to why it took so long for PayPal to integrate into China and the term that can explain it best is the complex financial regulations that prevail in the country. Also, there is a lot of competition to PayPal from the local digital payment platforms like AliPay and WeChat. It still falls far behind when it comes to personal transactions and is mainly used for making e-commerce, cross-border commerce, aviation tourism and other similar payments. Also, smaller businesses in China who do not have a global reach and operates locally still rely primarily on cash payment methods.
Getting started and signing up with PayPal China
PayPal China offers a very easy and convenient way of transferring funds between two parties. It only requires the recipient’s email address or mobile number and the amount and currency to send. With a valid PayPal account, any person can transfer money through their preferred way of payment like debit card, credit card or others.Only essential prerequisite is to have a national bank account in China.
Individual account
- Go to PayPal sign up page and select individual account.
- Enter mobile number.
- Enter basic personal information
- Provide other details, if asked.
- Get started with PayPal China.
Important note:
- To protect transaction safety, signups need ID verification.
- Chinese nationals should enter name in Chinese characters from National ID. Pinyin is not allowed.
- Non-Chinese nationals should use their name as mentioned in passport.
Business account
- Go to PayPal sign up page and select business account.
- Enter email address.
- Enter basic account information.
- Provide the details of business.
- Provide legal representative’s information and ID document.
- Provide business license.
- Get started with PayPal China.
Important note:
- Both front & back of Legal representative’s ID document is required to activate the account.
- After signing up, email address and identity must be confirmed in order to receive payments.
- Business owner information should be the one shown as “legal representative” on the business license.
Other Digital Payment Methods in China
Although PayPal has been introduced quite late in China, there are other online payment methods available here that people and businesses have been using for quite some time now. AliPay and WeChat are some prominent online payment platforms used in China since 2004 and 2013 respectively which are far more popular than PayPal.
AliPay is a payment method from the famous Alibaba group whereas WeChat is owned by the multinational conglomerate, Tencent. TenPay is another e-commerce platform by Tencent which is the second-largest online payment platform in China, only after AliPay. More than 90% online payment platform users still rely on AliPay and WeChat for their payments.
To conclude:
PayPal has been able to create a strong foundation in the global market as a comprehensive e-payment method. It is also one of the largest platforms available for international payment that supports more than 25 currencies from 200 countries and regions all over the world. But in China, it has only taken baby steps and has to go a long distance before it becomes par with AliPay and WeChat.
PayPal might offer the world’s largest payment market to countries across the globe but in China, it will still have to compete with these two domestic payments giants.
On paypal in china . The Chinese govern owns a percentage of every business in the country of china. The business becomes partners with the china government . The odds are they have access to all the information that paypal has , all there customers info . Why wouldn’t they .