Smartphone Payments

 
 

Vocabulary

coin	request	competitor
cash	barcode	automatic
app	deduct	innovation
mobile	face (3)	social media
proud	announce	lead the way
scan	situation	transaction
wary	analyze	position (3)
effect	setback	go into effect
affect	case (3)	get used to
grocer	retailer	pay on the go
output	estimated	transaction
limit	deputy	disadvantage
cashier	scenario	worse case scenario

 
 

 
 
 

Video: Smartphone Payment

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Xu Shengyi only pays in cash when requested.

Xu Shengyi: “Here, I found a coin. But that’s it.”

She hasn’t paid with cash for a year. When she goes shopping, the cashier just scans a barcode on her cell phone to deduct the amount — automatically.

Chinese internet companies have made this possible.

WeChat is the most popular social media app. And a market leader in mobile payment.

Zhang Xiaolong, WeChat President: “Innovations worldwide are making the internet faster.

In mobile payments, we’re leading the way. That’s something we’re really proud of.”

With its payment function, WeChat is trying to position itself as an app for every situation.

But the company is facing a setback: China’s central bank is wary of mobile payments — and has announced plans to limit smartphone transactions to seventy euros (€70).

How and when that will go into effect is still unclear.

Huang Li, Deputy Director, WeChat Pay: “If there are problems, we will be able to protect our customers. We’ve all got used to paying on the go when we’re shopping, eating out or singing karaoke.

That will continue to be available for our customers.”

Whether with online retailers, supermarkets or at the corner greengrocer, China saw transactions of an estimated 7.5 trillion euros last year. That’s twice the amount of Germany’s economic output.

Retailer: “Eighty percent of my customers pay with their smartphone.

WeChat and competitor Alipay likely have more customer data than any company in the world.

Shi Shengyi, Payment App User: “Of course, there are also disadvantages: I think a lot of people are worried about their personal information being collected and analyzed.

Still, for most people, it’s become their way of life.”

She’s a bit worried about the Central Bank’s plans . . . but in the worse case scenario, she’ll just use her bank card.

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Questions

1. Xu Shengyi carries lots of cash with her. True or false? Has she always purchased goods with her smart phone?

2. Do smartphone companies like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei provide mobile payment services?

3. Has WeChat been primarily an online payment service like Paypal? What is WeChat’s aim?

4. WeChat may be encountering problems. Is this right or wrong? Why might the Central Bank have reservations of smartphone payments?

5. Is WeChat daunted by any restrictions? Are they optimistic or pessimistic?

6. Mobile payments are still a novelty in China, confined to young techies. Is this correct or incorrect?

7. According to Shi Shengyi, are there any disadvantages?

 
 

A. My friends and I use mobile app payments. Yes or no? What is your preferred way of purchasing goods?

B. How popular are smartphone payments? Is it very popular, quite popular, becoming more popular, rare, or never used? How do people pay for goods?

C. What will happen in the future?

D. Are there reservations or suspicions about e-payments?

E. What could or should citizens do?