First of all, "government’s attitude is a very important factor",Dong Ximiao, executive director of Hengfeng Bank Research Institute and a researcher at Chongyang Financial Research Institute of Renmin University of China, explained, "China adopts a loose policy over third party payment. While some countries regulate third - party payment business similar to deposit business and require relevant platforms to pay deposit reserve, China doesn’t impose any such limits. Besides, requirement isn’t particularly high in terms of access policy, which is highly conducive to the development of third party payment.

　　In addition, mobile payment gets where it is today by standing on giants’ shoulders, or banks’ shoulders.

　　For example, China’s bank system provides third-party payment with some of the basic functions, including ID identification, transfer and settlement, etc., which enables them to provide further comprehensive financial services.

　　"The convenience of third-party payment is inseparable from the bank's support at the backend." Zeng Gang, director of Bank Research Center at the Institute of Finance, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　On the other hand, banks are also beneficiaries of the highly-developed third-party payment market.

　　"Although third-party payments dominate in some new trading scenarios and the role of banks is relatively weakened, third-party payment also brings much cash flow and more revenue to banks, something banks aren’t able and motivated enough to achieve by themselves," he added.

　　How can Chinese mobile payment service providers avoid the pitfall of Apple Pay?

　　Besides financial policy factor, can mobile payment become as popular overseas as it is back in China? It’s common that mobile payment products, like many other types of products, can’t develop well abroad. A typical example is Apple's Apple Pay.

　　Based on Boston Retail Partners’s statistics, Apple Pay has replaced PayPal and become the number one mobile payment service provider in the US, covering 36 per cent of businesses. Besides, it has done a great job also in countries such as Canada, Australia, France, etc.

　　However, the invincible Apple Pay failed in China. According to Time Weekly, Apple Pay accounts for less than 1 per cent in the Chinese mobile payment market, which is almost negligible.

　　How come?

　　Similar to Android Pay and Samsung Pay, etc., Apple Pay adopts the NFC (Near Field Communication) model. It is widely agreed that NFC is more secure than QR code. Moreover, user experience of NFC payment is also better. For example, Apple Pay users can complete payment simply by approach the dedicated POS machine with the NFC sensor area, and there’s no need to input password. In fact, the entire payment process can be completed within one to two seconds.

　　However, NFC payment poses higher demand on POS machines and smartphones. For example, only iPhone users who pay bills through POS machines that support quickpass can successfully use Apple Pay.

　　In comparison, Chinese mobile payment tools such as Alipay, WeChat Wallet, QQ Wallet, JD Wallet, Baidu Wallet, TenPay all adopt the QR code payment model.

　　Besides, Alipay and WeChat Wallet will often give subsidies to business owners, making Apple Pay’s advantages less tempting.

　　More importantly, Apple Pay’s success in the US has to do with the mainstream payment habit.

　　“Americans are accustomed to credit card payment, so some Americans will stick their credit cards on the back of their smartphones for convenience’s sake,” Wang Pengbo explained.

　　Credit card service is already quite mature in the US, and all kinds of discounts and subsidies make credit card payment a favorable choice for most consumers. Therefore, mobile payment actually still takes up a small proportion in retailing payment scenarios.

　　This is also why it is easier to spread Apple Pay in the U.S and also why it is difficult for Chinese mobile payment platforms to go abroad.