Baidu Joins Mobile Payments Race in China

Baidu, China’s leading search engine, is launching a mobile wallet application to compete with rival internet companies Tencent and Alibaba in the mobile payments industry, according to Tech Hub.

The Baidu Wallet provides money transfers, payments and wealth management services.

“Many internet companies are penetrating into the financial sector – and the first step is to build one’s own payment system” Li Chao, analyst with iResearch said.

Close to half a billion Chinese use their smartphones and analysts believe mobile is the main growth area of the internet, with smartphones and tablets increasingly “leapfrogging” PCs and laptop computers.

But in March, China’s central bank suspended some of the mobile payment functions, along with the “virtual” credit cards launched by Alibaba and Tencent,so they can do a broader review of the hazards of online finance.

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