The fourth installment in our series of profiles on China's third-party payment companies is on Smartpay, one of the leading mobile payment providers in China. Smartpay's main service is mobile top-up via SMS - that is, paying one's phone bill through the phone itself - and their main operator partner is China Unicom. Other mobile payment services include utilities payment, mobile ticketing, and a dedicated team of dealers to serve China's un-banked population.
Key Findings:
- Smartpay currently focuses on mobile top-up services simultaneously targeted at young, urban users and rural, un-banked users.
- Smartpay is China Unicom’s dominant mobile top-up partner.
- The company has strong financial backing from foreign and domestic investment firms.
- Smartpay-licensed dealers offer top-up services to an additional 500,000 unregistered users.
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: Smartpay Regional Coverage and Regional Branches
Figure 6: Smartpay's operation model
Figure 7: Smartpay m-payment services, merchant partners, and coverage areas
Figure 8: Smartpay bank partnerships by area
Figure 9: Smartpay - Active Users, 2006-2008F (M)
