China Tech Talk

20: Alipay vs WeChat and why smile to pay matters

Episode Summary

Matt and John start with Alipay's recent "smile to pay" demo and end with a discussion on why WeChat went into payments in the first place. Along the way, they talk about: - Alipay and WeChat's money market funds - WeChat's new money market fund feature - The dangers and benefits of ubiquitous facial recognition -The role WeChat and Alipay are playing in reshaping retail banking in China -Whether Alipay can ever become a platform like WeChat

Episode Notes

Matt and John start with Alipay's recent "smile to pay" demo and end with a discussion on why WeChat went into payments in the first place. Along the way, they talk about: