Payment Methods for Utilities in Beijing - Prepaid vs Postpaid

Every country has its own payment preferences for utilities such as electricity, gas, and water. The various methods can be generalized as either prepaid or postpaid. Back home in Singapore, postpaid is the preferred method; in Beijing, however, both prepaid and postpaid methods are common.

In Singapore, payment for all utilities is postpaid. The system is quite strict, however. Any late payment will add 1% to the next month's bill. If the bill remains unpaid yet another month, the service is simply shut down.

In Beijing, electricity is the most common prepaid utility. A co-worker of mine who lives in an apartment explained the process to me. After obtaining a card from the State Grid electric utility, he purchases electricity credits (generally done at a bank in Bejing) then slots the card into his home electric meter.

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38 Million 3G Users in China through October 2010

China's 3G users reached 37.79 million at the end of October, 2010, a sizeable increase of 9 million from the end of the previous quarter, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators. China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, continues to lead the pack with 16.98 million 3G users, followed by China Unicom at 11.66 million and China Telecom at 9.15 million users.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, and more.

Public Transportation Payments in Shanghai -- Expensive but Efficient

I spent a recent weekend in Shanghai to visit the 2010 World Expo as well as the Bund, Xintiandi, and other well-known attractions. I took quite a few subways and taxis during this time, and I was able to compare Shanghai's public transportation payment system and Beijing's Yikatong system, which I have written about in previous posts.

Like Beijing, Shanghai uses a rechargeable contactless smartcard, called (fittingly) the Shanghai Public Transportation Card (SPTC), or Jiaotong Yikatong in Chinese. The basic workings of the two systems are fairly similar; the two most noticeable differences are the distance-based fare system and the significantly higher overall cost of subway travel in Shanghai.

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Over 107 million broadband users in China through September 2010

China's broadband users reached 107.1 million at the end of September, 2010, an increase of 5 million from the end of the 1st quarter of 2010, according to the latest statistics released by China's telecom operators.

China Telecom's user base stands at 61 million as of 1^st September, up 1 million from the month of August. China Netcom has a user base of 46 million as of 1^st September, and that is an increase of 600,000 from August.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, xiaolingtong users, and more.

Beijing's Yikatong Card, Part 3: Non-transportation Services

My previous two posts covered on Yikatong as a form of payment for the public transportation, including taxis in Beijing. Like the Octopus in Hong Kong and the EZLink in Singapore, Yikatong payment works for a growing number of non-transportation services as well. To get a clearer picture of how this service works, I tried to make purchases at a number of shops in Beijing.

I chose several places near our office in the Dongzhimen neighborhood. All of them were listed on the Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card company's official site as being able to accept Yikatong for payment. Here are the results for the seven different stores I visited:

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Beijing’s Yikatong and Singapore’s Ezlink: Payment for Taxi Fare

In my last post, I talked about Yikatong and Ezlink as a form of payment for buses and train rides.  Both cards can also be used to pay for taxi fare. I have used this option a number of times in Singapore and tried (unsuccessfully) to pay with the Yikatong just last week.

My recent ride in Beijing was from Tsinghua University to Tiananmen Square (approximately 16km) and cost 60RMB (approximately $12SGD). One trip I paid for with Ezlink in Singapore was from my home in Jurong West to the Orchard Road shopping district (approximately 24km); it cost about $30SGD (about 150 RMB).

In both cases, the taxi drivers didn't really want to accept payment by transportation card. Both preferred cash, the most common form of taxi fare payment in both countries. The Singapore driver had no choice but to accept my card, as I did not have enough cash with me at the time. Here's my exchange with the Beijing driver:

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28 Million 3G Users in China through July 2010

China's 3G users reached 28.08 million at the end of July, 2010, an increase of 10 million from the end of the 1st quarter of 2010, according to the latest statistics released by China's mobile operators.

Unsurprisingly China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, is leading the pack with 13.42 million 3G users and China Unicom's 3G users number 9.51 million as of August, 2010. China Telecom, the last of China's three wireless carriers to offer 3G services, reported 7.18 million 3G users as of June, 2010. China Telecom only releases their 3G user number once a quarter, but the MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) estimates China Telecom has reached 7.75 million 3G users in July.

Although we are seeing rapid growth in 3G numbers one must remember that they are still a small fraction of China's 804.52 million mobile users.

Check out our statistics section to find out the latest mobile user numbers, fixed line subscribers, xiaolingtong users, and more.

Beijing's Yikatong and Singapore's Ezlink: The Growth of Contactless Payment

(I am currently serving a yearlong internship at Maverick China. This is the first in a series of blog posts on my own experiences with electronic payments in China.)

It has been almost a month ever since I arrived in Beijing. One of the first few necessities that I had to get was the Yikatong, a contactless payment card used primarily for payment on public buses and subways instead of cash. Singapore's version of Yikatong is called the Ezlink card. Below are a few observations drawn from my experience using both Yikatong and Ezlink.

One difference lies in the fares for both systems.

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99Bill and China's new payment license rules

In our previous post about the new license requirements for third-party payment providers in China, we stated that we expected the largest companies to face little trouble in getting licenses. It is still unclear how the regulations will affect 99Bill, however. Just around the time the PBOC's statement was released, a 99Bill executive was arrested for transferring funds of over RMB 3 billion to an offshore gambling syndicate, according to a report (Chinese) by the Ministry of Public Security. 99Bill, however, has issued a response (Chinese) decrying what they describe as "media reports" and claiming that the man arrested is not a high level executive in their company. The details are still murky and it is not clear whether this matter will impact 99Bill's eligibility for a license. We'll continue to monitor the situation.

China Payment Regulations Announced - Implications and Analysis

On June 21, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank and chief financial regulator, issued a statement stipulating that non-financial institutions will be required to obtain a license from the central bank in order to provide third-party payment services. This long-awaited announcement, which goes into effect on September 1, targets online payment providers such as Alipay, Tencent, YeePay, and 99Bill.

According to the PBOC statement, license applicants must meet the following key stipulations (for a Chinese-language list of all requirements and application procedures, click here):

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