China leads Asia-Pacific peers in digital payment

SHANGHAI — China is leading its Asia-Pacific peers in digital payment, according to a report from US-based electronic payment platform PayPal.

Released on Wednesday, the report said that the total transaction value of mobile payment platforms in China reached $5.5 trillion in 2016, much higher than other Asia-Pacific countries.

The report also surveyed 4,000 customers and 1,400 merchants in the region, among them 750 customers and 200 merchants from China.

Of Chinese customers 86 percent use digital payment, higher than the Asia average of 58 percent.

Merchants also benefited from digital payments instead of cash, and electronic financial tracking instead of manual operations.

PayPal said it had a strategic partnership with Alibaba, Baidu and China UnionPay to help Chinese users in cross-border digital payment.