Eighty-five percent of China UnionPay users opt for QR code payment, an increase of 6 percent from 2019, according to the "2020 Report of Mobile Payment Security" released on Monday by China’s UnionPay.

File photo: VCG

With the continuous advancement of information technology, mobile payment has infiltrated into all areas of life. Of all forms of payment including cash, 98 percent of respondents indicate that they use mobile payment most frequently, a year-on-year increase of 5 percent. "For three years, convenience has been the primary factor users considered the most, followed by habits, discounts and promotional activities. Mobile payment is becoming indispensable in people's daily life," said Senior Director of Risk Control Wang Yu.

Wang Yu said that new business models and formats, such as live-streaming and telemedicine, tend to use online payment. According to the report, 30 percent of respondents buy things through live-streaming platforms. An increasing number of online payment platforms are effectively synthesized with small offline stores such as grocery and food markets.

The report also discussed fraud cases related to mobile payment. In 2020, the aggregate of fraud cases dwindled. Only 8 percent of the respondents suffered financial loss from cyber fraud, a decrease of 4 percent compared with 2019. Three quarters have received fraud messages, 80 percent of which came from SMS text messages.

This is the fourteenth consecutive year that China UnionPay has worked with commercial banks and payment institutions to track and investigate the security of mobile payment for Chinese consumers.

(Compiled by Liu Tongshan)