Jing'an Joy City pilots NFC payment through Alipay. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

Jing'an Joy City, a shopping center in Shanghai's Jing'an district, has become one of the first in the city to have introduced Alipay-enabled NFC payment services, allowing customers to use their smartphones to complete transactions.

The majority of merchants at the shopping center have been equipped with the latest NFC payment devices. Once the cashier initiates the transaction, customers can simply hold their unlocked phones close to the NFC device, prompting a payment notification on their mobile screen. With just a click, the payment process is completed.

Compared to the conventional QR code payment process, this new method eliminates the need to open a payment app and display the payment code, resulting in a smoother payment experience.

The new payment method was highly recommended by one customer who said, "I no longer need to close my short video app to make a payment; now, a simple tap completes the transaction."

While NFC payments are not a new concept, they have gained traction over the years. Alipay began exploring NFC for payments in 2010. However, due to limited NFC-enabled phones at the time, the platform ultimately opted for the more universally accessible QR code payments. Since 2018, UnionPay has also been promoting NFC payments, and smartphone manufacturers like Apple and Huawei have introduced NFC payment methods such as Apple Pay and Huawei Pay.

With over 90 percent of smartphones currently sold in the market featuring built-in NFC technology, NFC payments are poised to become a mainstream payment method that is on par with QR code payments.

Shanghai has recently introduced measures to further improve payment convenience, focusing on enhancing payment services for the elderly and foreign visitors. The city has since been continuously refining its payment service system, incorporating innovations such as facial recognition payments, palm vein payments, and the multi-purpose prepaid card "Shanghai Pass".

Source: Shanghai Observer