Although Alipay and WeChat Pay have the largest amount of mobile payments users in China overall, younger and more affluent consumers are more likely to use less well-known services such as Du Xiaoman Pay and QQ Wallet, according to a report in NFCW.

An in-depth market analysis by S&P Global has found adults under the age of 30 make up nearly a quarter (24%) of all digital payment users in China. The 30-39 and 50-59 age ranges make up 18% and 16% of all Chinese digital payment users, respectively.

Mobile users 40- 49 that make digital payments make up 22% of digital payment users with only 1 in 5 aged 60 and over (20%) saying they pay digitally.

Different age ranges have adopted specific digital payment platforms in China, with QQ Wallet with the most users under 30 (38%), followed by Du Xiaoman Pay (30%). According to the analysis. Du Xiaoman Pay's share of higher income users was also above average, according to the analysis

"While the income of users of other payment platforms peaked at around 15,000 Chinese yuan (US$2,238) per month, the income of Du Xiamon Pay users peaked at 30,000 Chinese yuan (US$4,476) per month," the analysis reported.

Across all users, Alipay (95%) and WeChat Pay (95%) have the highest rates of usage, followed by UnionPay (38%), QQ Wallet (19%), other banking and credit card apps (19%), and DuXiaoman (10%).

For 'super apps' offering a variety of services, the research found that 87% of users use them to make mobile payments, 58% for money transfers, 50% for online shopping, 46% for taxis or ride shares, 30% for food delivery, 11% to purchase insurance and 4% to apply for a loan.