Three years after the epidemic, although most countries will fully open up in 2023, the collapsed economy still cannot quickly return to the pre-epidemic state.
In the process of comprehensive "degradation" of online and offline businesses, there is one industry that is growing against the trend - digital payment.
market Overview
Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the digitalization process of remote collaborative working, online shopping and other industries has accelerated, and local governments have encouraged strengthening international cooperation and further formulating online procurement and supply policies. COVID-19 has made e-commerce an essential transaction and collaboration tool, not least because e-commerce sales can support the small and medium-sized businesses that form the backbone of some economies. Some market growth data are enough to illustrate the correctness of this trend prediction:
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The transaction volume of the global digital payment market in 2021 is US$7.36 trillion and is expected to reach US$15.27 trillion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.38% from 2022 to 2027;
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Governments are taking the initiative to introduce digital payment solutions. For example, in August 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the digital payment solution e-RUPI (a cashless and contactless tool for digital payments);
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The Global Payment Report released by FIS in 2022 mentioned that it is expected that by 2025, about 52.5% of global e-commerce transactions will be paid through electronic wallets, an increase from 48.6% in 2021. In physical retail stores, digital wallet usage will also rise to nearly 39%, an increase of about 10 percentage points from 2021 levels.
Image source: FIS 2022 Global Payments Report
Payment Super App Trends in Asia
Super Apps use data, artificial intelligence and cloud technology to meet the needs of users in various scenarios, such as Alipay and WeChat in China, Grab in Singapore, Gojek in Indonesia and KakaoTalk in South Korea. This kind of super application with multiple functions and services is widely used in The development of the Asia-Pacific region is relatively mature. Therefore, digital wallets also dominate the payment "big brother" position in the Asia-Pacific market during the same period (in contrast, consumers in Europe and the United States do not like to rely on a single application or source to meet all their needs. One-stop shopping is just an ideal state, and market-based open banking is a new financial ecology that is more in line with European and American culture).
Image source: FIS 2022 Global Payments Report
Embedded ecological services become a new driving force for the growth of digital wallets
As Web 2.0 evolves into 3.0, the demand for frictionless payments is constantly driving the development of the payment industry. The so-called frictionless means that in various online and offline payment scenarios, the purchase object can be paid smoothly and quickly, such as offline merchants purchasing fast food, online convenient payment, etc. It can be said that frictionless payment is the in-depth development of user experience in online and offline payment scenarios.
With the sharp increase in the number of users of payment wallets and digital wallets in recent years, the construction of super apps has become very popular in the payment field.
Since the WeChat mini program was launched in 2017, its ecosystem has developed and grown rapidly. As one of the largest social platforms in China, WeChat has a huge user base. As part of the WeChat ecosystem, WeChat mini programs naturally attract a large number of users. According to statistics from public information, the number of mini programs on the entire network has exceeded 7 million in 2021, of which WeChat mini program developers have exceeded 3 million, and mini program DAU has exceeded 450 million; the average daily usage has increased by 32% year-on-year, and active mini programs have Programs grew by 41%, and the mini program ecosystem has created new growth space.
Following closely behind, Alipay, Douyin, Baidu, JD.com and other platforms are not willing to lag behind, and have built their own mini program ecological platforms and developed mini program scene ecology.
With the development of WeChat mini program scene ecology and mini program technology, mini program container technology has emerged in response to needs. It can enable enterprise apps to have the ability to run mini programs, forming an innovative App development model of "Native + mini program".
Compared with traditional native application development technology, mini program technology has the advantages of being lightweight, rapid development, cross-platform, no installation required, and more user-friendly. Mini programs do not require users to download and install them. At the same time, the development cost of mini programs is relatively lower, the development speed is faster, and it is easier to maintain and update. Mini program technology also supports cross-platform operation and can run on multiple mobile devices at the same time, greatly expanding the coverage of applications and bringing greater business value to enterprises and developers. Some of the more well-known mini program container technology products on the market include: WeChat, Alipay, Baidu, Douyin mini programs, etc. They are all designed to improve the technical base of large social platforms’ own mini program ecology and can provide third parties for privatized deployment. The products include: FinClip , mPaaS and other products. It is understood that FinClip’s self-developed mini program container technology can enable corporate apps to quickly run mini programs. Their SDK can also be embedded in smart device terminals other than apps (such as Linux, Windows, MacOS, Kirin etc. operating system).
It is an indisputable fact that the mini program ecosystem has brought new impetus for growth to digital wallet apps. With the popularity of digital payment methods and users' increasing demand for convenience, digital wallet apps have become an indispensable part of modern life. The introduction of mini programs has brought more possibilities to these applications, which not only enhances user stickiness, but also provides users with more convenient service options.
As we can see, the use of mini programs in digital wallet apps allows users to enjoy more one-stop services, from payment, transfer, financial management to shopping, travel, etc. This versatility not only improves user satisfaction, but also stimulates user activity on the digital wallet app. Users no longer need to frequently switch between different applications, but can complete various tasks on one platform, which undoubtedly increases their frequency of use and loyalty.
Mini programs also introduce more business partners and merchants to the digital wallet App, expanding its ecosystem. Users can enjoy more discounts and special offers through mini programs, which further stimulates user interest. At the same time, the digital wallet app has also obtained more sources of income through small program partners, providing a solid foundation for its sustainable development.