No 3 Internet payment

Major third-party online payment companies in China first appeared around 2004, and they have quickly risen to prominence as the country's e-commerce market grew dramatically over the last decade. According to iResearch Consulting Group, a market research firm focusing on China's Internet industry, third-party payment transactions on the Web amounted to 5.37 trillion yuan in 2013, up 46.8 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, third-party mobile payment transactions increased by 707 percent year-on-year to 1.22 trillion yuan.

Alipay is the largest third-party payment solution provider in China. At the end of 2013, Alipay, the online payment arm of Internet firm Alibaba Group, had nearly 300 million registered users, including over 100 million who access services via mobile phones. Last year, the company's mobile users made 2.78 billion transactions, with volume reaching 900 billion yuan ($148 billion).

Passengers walk past an advertisement for Alipay of Alibaba Group at a metro station in Shanghai, Dec 4, 2013. [Photo/IC]