E. Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) yesterday confirmed its partnership with Shenzhen Tenpay Co (財付通), a unit of China’s largest Internet service portal Tencent Inc (騰訊), in tapping the mobile payment business, as mobile devices continue to reshape consumer behavior.
Joseph Huang (黃男州), president of E. Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控), the owner of E. Sun Bank, announced the partnership alongside Tenpay general manager Jim Lai (賴智明), at a news conference in Taipei.
CUSTOMER GROWTH
The venture would allow E. Sun to increase it customer base, income from fees and interest margins when Chinese shoppers buy products and services from Taiwanese suppliers via quick response code applications activated via their handheld devices, Huang said.
The bank aims to increase its income from fees by 20 percent this year, Huang said, refusing to forecast income contribution from mobile payment services.
ONLINE PAYMENTS
The lender’s cooperation with China’s online payment service provider, Alipay (支付寶), netted the bank a modest NT$10 million (US$333,500), but enabled it to deepen ties with Taiwanese firms and win new customers, sources said.
Online shopping revenue reached 1.3 trillion yuan (US$209.3 billion) in China last year, with Tenpay accounting for 20 percent of the market, while mobile payments made up 8 percent of all electronic payments, or about 40 million yuan, Lai said, adding that trading volume could rise 80 percent this year.
Tenpay is in talks with the Financial Supervisory Commission and more Taiwanese financial institutions to deepen its presence in the local market, Lai said.
INTERNET SERVICES
Tencent, owner of Tenpay, operates popular Internet platforms in China such as QQ Instant Messenger, QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, SoSo and PaiPai, as well as mobile phone text and voice messaging communications service Wechat.
Taiwanese souvenirs, online games and hotel bookings are popular purchases made by Chinese shoppers, Lai said.
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