Rise of e-payments will support China's economic rebalancing: research

BEIJING - The rapid rise of third-party electronic payments is boosting the growth of China's online consumer market and will support the economy's rebalancing, according to a recent research report from Moody's.

The value of third-party e-payments in China has grown at an annual rate of more than 100 percent since 2015, offering consumers an alternative to banks' payment channels at lower transaction costs, said the global rating agency.

The growth stimulates online consumption and services, benefiting internet companies and service companies along the supply chain, it said.

In the longer term, the development of e-payments and overall growth of e-commerce will encourage China's economic rebalancing toward consumption from investment, according to Moody's.

It will support growth of the service sector, which will boost employment and consumption, and in turn stimulate more e-payments, said the report.

Meanwhile, rising e-payments will have little effect on the profitability and revenue growth of the banking sector because the retail payment business and interchange fee income represent only a small proportion of Chinese banks' revenue.

However, negative influence could be imposed on some traditional retail channels that lag in e-payment systems and lose consumer traffic to online platforms, the report said.