Maverick China Research

Founded in 2003, Union Mobile Pay (UMPay) is a joint-venture between China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator, and China UnionPay, China’s only inter-bank fund-transfer network. Focused on mobile payments and with the support of these two industry giants UMPay has direct access to capital and technology resources to grow its business in China’s nascent payment market.

Key Findings

- UMPay is China's leading mobile payment provider with about 30 million registered users
- UMPay's payment platform is based on mobile SMS technology
- UMPAy tries to offer a comprehensive set of mobile payment services, but its coverage remains highly fragmented
- Compared with other third-party payment channels, mobile payment has yet to develop a strong presence in the market -- bank card, prepaid card, telephone, and online payment are currently the preferred choice for non-cash payments.

Figures

Figure 1: Credit cards issued in China and in the US (M)
Figure 2: Internet Users in China, 2001-2006
Figure 3: Mobile Subscribers in China, 2002-2010F (M)
Figure 4: China government groups involved in third-party payment regulation
Figure 5: Shanghai CardInfo's telephone payment terminal
Figure 6: Merchant fees for CUP partners
Figure 7: Comparison of merchant and user fees for other payment models in China
Figure 8: China tier-1 city data, 2005
Figure 9: Countries where CUP is accepted
Figure 10: CUP-Visa market comparison
Figure 11: CUP inter-bank and payment network partners
Figure 12: CUP technology partners 19 Figure 13: Total debit cards issued in China, 2005-1H2007 (M)
Figure 14: Total CUP credit cards issued in China, 2005-1H2007 (M)
Figure 15: CUP acceptance (POS and merchants) in China, 2004-1H2007 ('000s)
Figure 16: CUP ATM network in China, 2004-1H2007