Processor 99Bill Corp. has entered the cross-border electronic-payments market in China, offering payment-processing services for Chinese merchants that sell their products and services internationally, the Beijing-based company announced Nov. 19.
The launch of cross-border payment services is part of a wider, expansionist strategy to garner a larger share of the payments market in China, Zhao Wang, 99Bill marketing manager, tells PaymentsSource.
“From its inception in 2004, 99Bill has been providing simple online-payment services, similar to Alipay, which is limited in scope to payments for online shopping,” he says. “But Alipay has 50% of this market, and hence development in this sector is limited.”
Cross-border payment services for merchants selling products and services abroad represent a new opportunity to grow, Wang adds.
Under the offering, 99Bill will process payments overseas buyers initiate with Visa, MasterCard, JCB and American Express cards when purchasing products or services from customer Chinese merchants, according to Wang.
“With this [service], we will target big trading companies that already have a substantial customer base abroad as well as develop (relationships with) small companies who may want to take their trade overseas,” he says.
Receivables and settlements have been a problem for companies in China that sell products to consumers in other markets, with overseas clients at times refusing payments or cheating the companies, Wang says.
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