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SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher/Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke – B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Bao Smith – B.Sc. Tim Blythman – B.E., B.Sc. Advertising Enquiries (02) 9939 3295 adverts<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Allan Linton-Smith Dave Thompson David Maddison – B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Dr Hugo Holden – B.H.B, MB.ChB., FRANZCO Ian Batty – M.Ed. Phil Prosser – B.Sc., B.E.(Elec.) Cartoonist Louis Decrevel loueee.com Founding Editor (retired) Leo Simpson – B.Bus., FAICD Silicon Chip is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20 880 526 923. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Subscription rates (Australia only) 6 issues (6 months): $70 12 issues (1 year): $130 24 issues (2 years): $245 Online subscription (Worldwide) 6 issues (6 months): $52.50 12 issues (1 year): $100 24 issues (2 years): $190 For overseas rates, see our website or email silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au * recommended & maximum price only Editorial office: Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 194, Matraville, NSW 2036. Phone: (02) 9939 3295. ISSN: 1030-2662 Printing and Distribution: Editorial Viewpoint Alipay & WeChat show us the way I have been to China a few times and went again late December last year. It’s quite a fascinating place to visit, especially megacities like Beijing. Beijing has basically as many people as live in all of Australia within its metropolitan area (and an incredible subway system that I am envious of). Something I’ve noticed before but haven’t really commented on is how good their payment and ordering systems are. This relates to one of the problems we have here, which is that every different business you deal with seems to want you to use their app these days. I don’t know about you but I already have a huge number of apps on my phone and I don’t want to install any more! Especially when so many of them are just glorified web browsers. In China, two apps that basically everyone has on their phone are Alipay (their equivalent to PayPal) and WeChat (their equivalent to, say, WhatsApp and Facetime). However, in many ways, they are far superior to what we have. Let’s start by looking at Alipay. This allows you to pay just about anyone, from your friend or family member to a street vendor or a large company, in seconds by scanning a QR code or via the phone interface. It’s fee-free for payments under ¥200 (about $44). PayPal lets you do something similar but, excluding the ‘friends and family’ option, they charge relatively high fees (around 3%). Visa or Mastercard transactions usually involve fees closer to 1–1.5%. Alipay also supports NFC, similar to ‘tap and go’. So imagine the convenience of ‘tap and go’ but without any of those pesky tacked-on fees. But it gets better. Just about any large vendor you will deal with in China (coffee shops, restaurants etc) will let you scan another QR code to quickly and easily install an add-on (or ‘mini app’) within Alipay that includes their menu. This mini app will let you browse the menu, choose what to order and pay. Importantly, the UI (user interface) for most of these mini apps is pretty consistent, so once you’ve used one, all the others are quick and easy to figure out. Plus, it’s all within Alipay, so you don’t ‘pollute’ your phone with dozens of specific apps. For example, from my hotel room, I could go into the Luckin Coffee app. It would automatically find the nearest store, just around the corner. I could order coffee in the morning, pay, go out of the hotel and walk into the shop, then pick up the coffee and walk out (after they scanned the code showing it was my order). It was super convenient. Sure, you can do that with some shops here, but it’s generally much more of a hassle. I tried using the McDonalds app once. I spent quite a bit of time putting together an order, then it wouldn’t let me pay, and I had to order in the restaurant. By contrast, Alipay just works. WeChat is similar; it provides communications facilities (text, video chat etc) and is widely used by Chinese people, including those living in Australia. It also has payment features similar to Alipay, and its own set of mini apps. In many cases, you can choose which one you prefer to use at a given shop (Alipay or WeChat/Weixin); they mostly work interchangeably. I hope we get something similar here one day. Perhaps these apps will eventually become popular in Australia and provide an alternative to the Visa & Mastercard duopoly. They will also provide a lot of convenience and keep our phones free of extraneous icons. by Nicholas Vinen 9 Kendall Street, Granville NSW 2142 2 Silicon Chip Australia's electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au