AliPay is coming, ready or not
There is a financial technology tsunami headed this way from China and our government, business and regulation leaders need to get ready to adapt.
So says Grame Barty an experienced international trade envoy and China hand who previously led the Austrade international operations group where he helped set up a landing pad in Shanghai, as well as leading an innovation-centric delegation to China. He also has experience as a tech entrepreneur in his own right.
Mr Barty has watched the phenomenal growth of Chinese electronic sales platform Alibaba and its subsidiary payments vehicle Alipay. Both Alibaba and Alipay are gearing up in Australia and other Western countries as well as Africa and Asia.
He says Western players do not well understand the size and scope of Chinese financial technology.
“The size of what’s occurring in terms of financial systems and the uniqueness and their foresightedness of what they are doing around digital currency will change the world’s financial systems, maybe even with ten years,” says Mr Barty.
What has given China an edge is that it had very little 20th century financial system baggage to contend with.
“China had the advantage of never having much landline infrastructure and going straight to mobile and WiFi. They never had credit cards or charge cards – it’s a cash economy.”
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