Of China's 1.35 billion population, 710 million are internet users. The results of a survey by the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper released in March found that, like Xu, 70 percent of internet users polled thought carrying cash was not necessary.The apps fueling this cashless trend are Tencent's WeChat and Alibaba's Alipay. Launched in 2011, WeChat is a multi-function app based around a messaging system that incorporates WhatsApp and Twitter-like elements. The app is phenomenally popular in China—the majority of WeChat's roughly 889 million monthly-active users worldwide are based in the People's Republic. Chinese users of apps like WeChat tend to not be put off by the personal data storing and sharing that goes on in them. Snooping by authorities is pretty much accepted.
Many experts predict that China will be effectively cashless within five to 12 years. If you want a packet of cigarettes in Beijing in 2030, make sure your phone is working. Photo: Aurelien Foucault
It's hard to not notice the change. Every lunchtime in Beijing queues of phone-waggling customers zip past tills with a "beep", and no fiddling for notes. QR codes are printed on cards and taped onto chicken wrap stalls outside metro stations. In the eastern Shandong province, panhandlers have been spotted with QR codes hanging around their necks. No loose change? Just scan here."We're at a tipping point now," said Rhia Liu, 25, an analyst with China Tech Insights, an organization that conducts research for Tencent. "The younger generation has never read a physical newspaper, and similarly in the future they'll never use cash.""The younger generation has never read a physical newspaper, and similarly in the future they'll never use cash."
It is almost impossible to find a retail vendor in Beijing that doesn't accept cashless payments through smartphones now. Outside the capital, beggars have been spotted with QR codes hanging around their necks to accept digital donations. Photo: Aurelien Foucault'
Most cashless smartphone payments in China are for small items and services such as meals, drinks and magazines. But average payment amounts are increasing as more people buy larger items and pay rent via their phones. Photo: Aurelien Foucault
The question is: When are the final coins and notes in China going to be placed in the big piggy bank in the sky? Estimations from the analysts I spoke to ranged between five and 13 years.
Increasing amounts of people in Beijing don't feel the need to carry cash anymore, meaning even road-side food stalls need to accept payment through QR code smartphone scans to survive. Photo: Aurelien Foucault