Logos of China UnionPay are seen on bank cards. Photo: Reuters/Barry Huang
Logos of China UnionPay are seen on bank cards. Photo: Reuters/Barry Huang

A new partnership with online retailer JD.com is not likely to help Chinese card-payment network UnionPay stay relevant, reports Caixin.

While, as China moves to a cashless economy, card-based transactions have seen a 35% increase over a year ago, it pales in comparison to the 86% jump in mobile payment transactions, led by Alipay and WeChat Pay. The two tech giants account for a combined 94% market share. In comparison, JD.com’s payments unit is ranked sixth with a market share of 0.8%.

UnionPay was once among the first to develop mobile payment QR-code technology, but the state-owned company was too slow to bring the technology to market and address regulators’ concerns.

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