Bitcoin is booming in Asian markets and mobile transactions are increasingly popular in industries where cash used to be king, like shopping abroad. The Chinese mobile payment platform Alipay announced this week its tap-and-go system soon will be compatible for shopping at more than 4 million American stores, strategically marketing to Chinese students and tourists in the U.S.
Mobile payment apps are already commonplace across China. A recent survey conducted by Beijing Youth Daily found 70 percent of Chinese internet users thought carrying cash was no longer necessary.
Sean Walsh, a partner at Redwood City Ventures who specializes in collaborations between American and Chinese bitcoin companies, noticed during a trip to China this month most of his Chinese colleagues constantly used Alipay’s instant messaging partner WeChat. “Everybody uses WeChat to pay for everything,” he told International Business Times. “The Chinese regulators in the government are actually very supportive of bitcoin and cryptocurrency.”
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