The success of these processors are actually a direct result of the PBC's failure.
One of the reasons is there are simply too many counterfeit CNY booknotes. Using payment processors can avoid counterfeiting issue. Also - the largest denomination of CNY is still $100. Carrying a large stack of banknotes is inconvenient comparing using processors.
The Chinese government likes to plan, regulate and control everything.
To supplement - everything means absolute 100%, not 99.99%.
The government would have much preferred that state-controlled Unionpay have a lock on the payment system, but Unionpay was too slow off the block and got caught out by Wechat/Alipay.
To supplement, many key Chinese enterprises are state-owned. Alibaba (which owns Alipay) and Tencent (which owns WeChat Pay) are not state-owned.
Originally Posted by
david_oz
For sure, I understand the government there wants to both control and verify capital outflows, but it could still be quite easy to achieve these aims. Alipay / wechat could just setup an online passport verification system where you need a passport and chinese visa to register, accept transfers of cash through paypal or some other payment network which foreigners have access to, and just make it one way ie. cash can be moved into an account, but not out of it, or can only be withdrawn into RMB cash through a partner bank. Or alternatively setup a weekly limit on withdrawals back to paypal to some amount which complies with their capital controls.
Then how can you assure that the person using the account is indeed the account holder?
There is a reason why these accounts are linked with Chinese mobile phone numbers.
Originally Posted by
david_oz
In my last couple of visits to Sydney I've seen alipay and wechat signs everywhere... I bet there is a market in western countries for these services, especially for people who are averse to credit cards
They are available for the sake of earning CNY from Chinese, but not you.