中国移动支付规模远超美国

 　　Chinese mobile payments were nearly 50 times greater than those in the US last year, market data show, highlighting Chinese internet companies’ strong position in a market segment viewed as a gateway¹ to the fintech ecosystem².

　　市场数据显示，去年，中国移动支付的规模是美国的近50倍。由此可见，在这个被视为进入“金融科技”生态系统的一道门户的市场，中国互联网公司拥有强大的地位。

　　The rise of Chinese mobile payments has been driven by the explosive growth of online shopping as well as internet financial services such as peer-to-peer lending and online money market funds. More than half of all mutual³ funds in China are now sold online, up from only 5 per cent in 2012.

　　中国移动支付的流行，得益于在线购物以及网贷、在线货币市场基金等互联网金融服务的爆炸性增长。如今中国超过一半的共同基金是在网上发售的，2012年这个比例仅为5%。

　　Last year was also a turning point for the use of online payments at physical retailers⁴, including supermarkets, restaurants and clothing shops. Starbucks announced in January that it would begin accepting WeChat Pay — the payments service linked to Tencent’s ubiquitous mobile messaging app — at its China stores. Growth was also robust⁵ in 2016 in online to offline services such as ride hailing and food delivery apps that customers pay for through via platforms.

　　去年也是超市、餐厅和服装店等实体零售商使用在线支付的一个转折年。1月，星巴克(Starbuck)宣布其中国门店将开始接受微信支付(WeChat Pay)，这是腾讯(Tencent)被广泛使用的移动消息应用“微信”所包含的支付服务。去年，线上到线下服务也增长强劲，如叫车和送餐应用，在这类服务中，消费者通过平台支付。

　　“Digital payment platforms remain a critical part of the underlying⁶ fintech infrastructure⁷ in China but are also an important source of transaction and financial data that is increasingly being leveraged⁸ by the payment companies for new fintech platforms, products and services,” said Zennon Kapron, principal at Kapronasia, a Shanghai-based fintech consultancy.

　　总部位于上海的金融科技咨询公司Kapronasia的负责人曾农?考普龙(Zennon Kapron)表示：“数字支付平台仍然是中国金融科技基础设施中的重要组成部分，也是交易和金融数据的一个重要来源，支付公司正越来越多地把这些数据用于新的金融科技平台、产品和服务。”

　　The value of Chinese third-party mobile payments more than tripled to Rmb38tn ($5.5tn) in 2016, according to estimates by iResearch in China. WeChat Pay and Alipay, the payment service operated by Ant Financial, an affiliate⁹ of Alibaba Group, dominate the market. In the US, mobile payments rose 39 per cent to $112bn, according to global firm Forrester Research, with the market dispersed¹⁰ among rival groups including Apple, Google, Samsung and PayPal.

　　据中国艾瑞咨询(iResearch)估计，2016年，中国第三方移动支付的规模扩大两倍多，至38万亿元人民币（合5.5万亿美元）。微信支付和支付宝(Alipay)在该市场占据主导地位，后者是阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)旗下蚂蚁金服(Ant Financial)运营的支付服务。而根据全球研究机构Forrester Research的数据，美国移动支付规模增长39%，至1120亿美元，苹果(Apple)、谷歌(Google)、三星(Samsung)和PayPal等共同瓜分了市场。

　　China’s lead over the US in mobile payments is also the result of the lack of other viable¹¹ options for non-cash payments. Credit card penetration¹² in China is small compared to that of developed markets, while online payments with debit¹³ cards are cumbersome¹⁴ — usually requiring authentication¹⁵ through a combination of SMS messages, USB dongles and random¹⁶ code generators¹⁷. By contrast, payment with Alipay or WeChat is much more streamlined and requires only the scan of a QR code from a retailer’s point-of-service terminal or a smartphone.

　　中国在移动支付方面领先于美国，也是缺乏其他可行的非现金支付方式的结果。与发达国家相比，中国的信用卡普及率较低，而用借记卡进行在线支付较为繁琐，通常需要通过短信、U盾和随机密码等多重认证。相比之下，用支付宝或微信进行支付要简单得多，只需要从零售商服务点终端或智能手机扫描一下二维码即可。

　　“China’s rapid adoption¹⁸ of proximity¹⁹ payments is in part thanks to its late-mover advantage — unlike the US and other regions, China does not have a strong entrenched²⁰ credit card culture. In effect, China has jumped directly from cash to mobile payments,” market research firm eMarketer said in a report.

　　市场研究机构eMarketer在一份报告中称：“近端支付在中国快速得到应用，一定程度上得益于其后发优势——与美国和其他地区不同，中国没有深厚的信用卡文化。实际上，中国直接从现金支付跳到了移动支付。”

　　Beyond the revenue earned directly from processing fees, the dominance of China’s mobile payments market by Alibaba’s Ant Financial and Tencent gives them access to valuable user data that can be used for everything from credit ratings to targeted advertising²¹ to product development.

　　除了直接赚取手续费收入，蚂蚁金服与腾讯在中国移动支付市场占据主导地位，也有利于它们获取宝贵的用户数据，这些数据可以用于很多方面，从信用评级到定向广告以及产品开发。

　　However, the eye-catching transaction value of Chinese mobile payments partly reflects payments that do not necessarily correspond to real economic activity.

　　然而，中国移动支付市场引人注目的交易金额中，有一部分支付与实际经济活动并不相关。

　　During the recent Spring Festival holiday for example, friends and relatives traded “red envelopes” in auspicious²² amounts such as 88, which pronounced in Mandarin²³ sounds like “get rich”, and 520, which sounds like “I love you”.

　　例如，在刚刚过去的春节假期，亲朋好友之间会互相发内含88（在普通话里听起来像“发财”）或520（听起来像“我爱你”）等吉利数字的“红包”。

　　While these red envelopes are used to make actual cash gifts, they are often exchanged back and forth²⁴ as a form of socialising in which most users receive the same amount that they send. About 60 per cent of Chinese mobile payments took the form of person-to-person transfers in the third quarter, according to iResearch, although some portion of these are actually small businesses that have not set up a commercial payment account.

　　尽管这些红包被用来发送实际的现金礼物，但是人们往往会互相发红包作为一种社交的方式，大多数人收到的红包金额与他们所发出的红包金额相当。艾瑞咨询的数据显示，在去年第三季度，中国移动支付金额中约有60%是以个人对个人(P2P)转账的形式，尽管其中一部分实际上来自未开立商业支付帐户的小微企业。

　　“Originally this was just for holiday games, but after cultivation²⁵ over several Spring Festivals, it’s now everyday behaviour,” said Li Zhefeng, payments analyst²⁶ at iResearch in Beijing. “In the past, people used bank cards to do fund transfers, but now these transactions have shifted decisively to mobile phones.”

　　“最初这只是假期的特有游戏，但在经过几个春节后，如今这发展成了日常行为，”艾瑞咨询在北京的支付分析师李哲峰称，“过去人们用银行卡转账，但如今这些交易明显都转到手机端了。”

　　Yet in terms of mobile payment growth, China still resoundingly beats the US. Forrester expects US payments in 2019 to be 2.6 times their 2015 value; Chinese payments will grow by 7.4 times in the same period, according to iResearch.

　　不过在移动支付的增长方面，中国仍然完胜美国。Forrester预计，2019年美国移动支付总额将是2015年的2.6倍；而据艾瑞咨询预计，同期中国的移动支付总额将增长7.4倍。

　　In the US, in-person payments at offline retailers rather than mobile payments will be the biggest growth driver in the US. There and in Europe, near field communication (NFC) payments, which involve swiping a phone over a chip reader, are preferred to QR codes.

　　在美国，在实体零售商进行的面对面支付（而非移动支付）将成为最大的增长驱动因素。在美国和欧洲，近场通信(NFC)支付（把手机在芯片读取器上刷一下）比二维码更受欢迎。

　　Forrester found that half of all surveyed American retailers planned to install NFC terminals by the end of 2016 or had already done so. However, changing entrenched consumer behaviour is a challenge.

　　Forrester发现，2016年末，受访的美国零售商中有一半计划安装、或已经安装了NFC终端。然而，改变根深蒂固的消费者行为是一项挑战。

　　“Old habits die hard and, by all accounts, consumers are still reaching for cards rather than phones in the checkout²⁷ lane,” Forrester wrote in its report.

　　“旧习惯很难改掉，根据各方面信息，消费者在结账通道仍然习惯去掏卡而非拿出手机，”Forrester在报告中写道。

1 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

2 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

3 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

4 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

5 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。

9 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

10 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

11 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

12 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

13 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

14 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

15 authentication   

鉴定，认证

参考例句：

• Computer security technology includes mainly:Authentication,Encryption,Access Control,Auditing and so on.计算机网络安全技术主要有: 认证授权、数据加密、访问控制、安全审计等。

16 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

17 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

19 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

20 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

21 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

22 auspicious   

adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的

参考例句：

• The publication of my first book was an auspicious beginning of my career.我的第一本书的出版是我事业吉祥的开始。
• With favorable weather conditions it was an auspicious moment to set sail.风和日丽，正是扬帆出海的黄道吉日。

23 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

24 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

25 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

26 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

27 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。