China UnionPay has signed an agreement with BesTV Network Television Technology Development Co. Ltd. to support bill payments initiated on consumers’ televisions. But it faces a market that is becoming less reliant on TV for information.
Under the agreement, the two parties, in collaboration with China-based electronics maker Konka Group, plan to launch the Smart Payment TV. Starting first in Shanghai, the device would enable China UnionPay cardholders to use their cards to pay for pay-on-demand video, prepaid mobile-phone recharges, water and electricity bills, cable charges, and credit card bills.
China UnionPay would support the transaction-routing, BesTV would provide the network and media content, and Konka would manufacture the TV, which would contain an integrated point-of-sale mechanism.
To make a payment, the user would have to choose the service he wants, and enter his UnionPay card number and four-digit ATM PIN to authorize the transaction.
Such a digital-television model would not have much impact on the overall payment card market for UnionPay, Weidong Wang, an analyst from iResearch Consulting Group, tells PaymentsSource.
In China, consumers’ dependence on television is falling, and the way they receive information is shifting to online and mobile-Internet sources, Wang says, citing consumer training as another potential obstacle. “Most importantly, the replacement costs with the hardware terminal and [TV] network fees would be a barrier,” he says.
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