A grand showcase of "Touch and Pay"! Alibaba quietly revolutionizes mobile interaction, taking it to the next level! Merchants and consumers alike are captivated by this new experience. "Touch and Pay" opens a new chapter in digitalization.

Author/Tomato Sauce

Produced by/Xinzhai Business Review

More open, cutting-edge, and innovative: On September 7, the inclusion·Bund Summit, hailed by overseas tech media as the "most anticipated global innovation tech conference of the second half of 2024," drew to a close, leaving attendees wanting more. Over three days, over 30 AI achievements, including Ant AI Life Assistant "Zhi Xiaobao" and AI Financial Assistant "Ma Xiaocai," were unveiled, showcasing groundbreaking technologies that left attendees in awe of the future that has already arrived.

Even more impressively, this conference marked the first-ever fully "touch-enabled" event in history.

Unlike conventional conferences where attendees scan QR codes for check-in, entry, and payments, the 2024 Bund Summit embraced "Touch and Pay" for a seamless experience. From ticket verification, renting power banks, buying coffee, and interacting with brands like Juewei Duck Neck, NBA, and Ant Forest – attendees could enjoy the entire conference through Alibaba's "Touch and Pay" feature.

This innovative experience throughout the event continually amazed attendees with glimpses of China's technological prowess. After experiencing "Touch and Pay," one foreign blogger praised Alibaba's continuous innovation in mobile payments, calling it convenient, user-friendly, and loved by all.

Moreover, the magical "Touch and Pay" interactions at the Bund Summit revealed that Alibaba's feature goes beyond mere payments, pioneering digital innovation for merchants as well.

While providing fresh experiences for both users and merchants, "Touch and Pay" also addresses the "impossible trinity" of fast checkout, customer acquisition, membership management, and precision marketing in the private domain. As its reach and application scenarios expand, its digital value will gradually emerge, facilitating China's service industry digitalization while boosting consumption – achieving multiple benefits with a single touch.

Beyond the Bund Summit, this convenient, trendy, and engaging interaction method is rapidly captivating young people. Just as the "hip-hop greeting" trend swept the internet, Alibaba's "Touch and Pay" has now made "Hey Bro, Touch and Pay!" and "What's up, Touch and Pay!" the new cool social etiquette among Chinese and foreign youth.

It's crucial to note that young people represent the future of commerce – with every touch, Alibaba moves closer to that future.

On September 6, at the Bund Summit's "Touch and Pay Forum," Alibaba revealed that "Touch and Pay" had achieved a promotion speed six times faster than face scan payments during the same period since its launch. Currently, the feature is available in over 50 cities, including Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan, Changsha, Hangzhou, and Qingdao.

So, what's the magic behind "Touch and Pay"? Why has it captured the hearts of consumers, merchants, and the entire ecosystem, sparking a global craze?

I. New Experiences and Interactions! "Touch and Pay Meets Everything"

Users and Merchants are Enchanted by the Touch

Essentially, both "Touch and Pay" and the traditional "Scan and Pay" fall under barcode payment methods. The key difference lies in "Touch and Pay" optimizing information transmission. Users' phones interact and authenticate with merchant devices through communication technology, while payments are processed online. It's like both parties quickly "touch base," confirm each other, and swiftly complete the transaction seamlessly.

Currently, "Touch and Pay" supports various device types, including Apple and Android phones, driving a comprehensive payment revolution with excellent compatibility. Android devices, known for their open systems, achieve blazing-fast speeds when using "Touch and Pay."

Recently, smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo have upgraded their systems to fully support Alibaba's "Touch and Pay." With the close collaboration of all parties, domestic smartphone users enjoy a significantly better experience than iPhone users, leading netizens to joke that they have one less reason to buy an iPhone.

Naturally, some users may worry about security issues like unauthorized payments through "Touch and Pay."

It's worth noting that "Touch and Pay" maintains the same security level as "Scan and Pay." Users' phones interact and authenticate with merchant devices without transmitting sensitive payment information. Instead, it facilitates information retrieval and confirmation for digital services. To reassure users, Alibaba still upholds its "Pay with Confidence" guarantee, strengthening payment security.

With this assurance, users can let go of their concerns and embrace "Touch and Pay" anytime, anywhere, becoming increasingly addicted to the convenience. For users, "Touch and Pay" opens the door to new experiences through innovation.

Without displaying payment codes, users simply unlock their phones and touch merchant devices for the fastest checkout, streamlining the traditional payment process of switching apps, opening QR code scanners, scanning, and paying. It's as easy as touching to complete the task, greatly simplifying the payment journey.

Compared to the 10+ seconds needed for QR code scanning, "Touch and Pay" completes the transaction in just 3 seconds. In today's fast-paced society, this feature perfectly addresses users' pain points. As Al Ries noted in "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind," "We now live in a society overwhelmed with communications, and consumers can only process limited information. The most potent weapon against this 'information explosion' is the Law of Least Effort – consumers hate complexity and love simplicity."

Moreover, "Touch and Pay" is especially popular among young people. Data shows that nearly 70% of current "Touch and Pay" users are young adults.

This is because Gen Z values individuality, embraces change, and revels in memes and cyberculture, showing a strong interest in emerging technologies like AI. In this context, "Touch and Pay" offers a futuristic and exhilarating experience, becoming an integral part of young people's trendy culture. Through "Touch and Pay," they reinforce their identity as being "in," "city," and in sync with the times.

In an era where "capturing young people means capturing the world," "Touch and Pay" undoubtedly boasts broader application prospects and imaginative possibilities.

Among senior citizens, "Touch and Pay" also shines with its practicality. Instead of searching for QR codes everywhere, seniors can simply touch to complete payments, significantly reducing operational difficulty, akin to having a "senior-friendly" software interface.

Of course, "Touch and Pay" appeals not just to consumers but also to merchants, simultaneously tackling the "impossible trinity" of fast checkout, customer acquisition, membership management, and precision marketing in the private domain.

II. Touching New Business Opportunities and a New Landscape

"Touch and Pay" Leads the Digital Transformation of the Service Industry

Under traditional models, meeting the demands for fast checkout, attracting new customers, and precisely marketing to existing ones in the private domain often proves challenging. Pursuing fast checkout often leads merchants to streamline payment processes, enhancing transaction efficiency but potentially reducing customer engagement and brand loyalty, resulting in "pay-and-go" behavior that hinders customer acquisition.

For regular customers, each purchase often involves the tiresome routine of being asked for membership or loyalty cards before enjoying discounts.

Now, "Touch and Pay" revolutionizes this process, offering merchants and brands new interactive avenues with consumers. For brands, new customers can join membership programs in just 3 seconds, while members can enjoy member prices and earn points with a simple touch, seamlessly integrating payment, customer acquisition, and private domain operations across the entire "payment, membership, and marketing" chain.

Rooted in groundbreaking innovations, "Touch and Pay" not only attracts young customers through trendy payment methods but also presents new business opportunities for digital operations and customer engagement, delivering immediate results upon adoption.

According to You Renhong, VP of Marketing Integration for Ting Hsin International Group's convenience and catering chain business, pilot tests of "Touch and Pay" for member transactions showed double-digit growth in transaction orders, transaction amounts, and new member sign-ups, with new member orders surging by over 40%. As a result, FamilyMart plans to roll out "Touch and Pay" across its nearly 3,000 stores nationwide.

"'Touch and Pay' will become a crucial tool for FamilyMart's membership operations and may set the industry standard for convenience stores in the future," predicts You.

Juewei Foods' practice demonstrates that "Touch and Pay" not only synchronizes member points but also enables interactive displays with the brand's IP character, "Little Fire Duck." Upon successful payment, customers hear a customized voice message from Juewei's global brand ambassador, Fan Chengcheng, exclaiming, "Touch and Pay, one word – amazing!"

This significantly enhances the fun factor, inadvertently promoting the brand during payments, bridging the gap with young consumers, and saving marketing costs. Within half a month, Juewei increased its new member acquisition efficiency by 3.5 times and member-generated sales by 4.7 times through "Touch and Pay." Recently, Juewei announced the rollout of "Touch and Pay" across its over 10,000 stores nationwide.

These remarkable cost-saving and efficiency-boosting achievements showcase that Alibaba's "Touch and Pay" is not just an innovation in China's payment industry but also a driver of merchant digitalization, propelling China's service industry's digital development and boosting consumer spending, as noted by Chen Pengfei, Chief Digital Intelligence Growth Officer at Juewei Group.

"Touch and Pay" elevates consumer experiences to new heights while creating additional marketing opportunities by reshaping payment methods.

Moreover, "Touch and Pay" is spreading from China to the world, once again amazing the globe and earning praise for China's payment innovation and technological prowess.

III. Where Creativity Leads, There Are No Boundaries

China's Payment "Tech Power" Continues to Lead Global Innovation

In the past, China has written a history of remarkable leadership in payments.

Since 2004, China's mobile payment industry has thrived, boasting a penetration rate of 86%, the highest globally. As an innovator in digital payments, Alibaba launched its first barcode payment product in July 2011, subsequently upgrading it to QR code payments, making "Scan and Pay" a daily routine for Chinese people.

In December 2018, Alibaba introduced face scan payments, eliminating the need to carry phones, quickly becoming a favorite in many scenarios.

Today, from "Scan and Pay" to "Face Scan Pay" and now "Touch and Pay," Alibaba continuously innovates, representing China and leading the world with its technological prowess, winning over overseas users too. Data shows that foreigners' "Touch and Pay" transactions surged fourfold month-on-month in August.

Beyond payments, "Touch and Pay" revolutionizes entire service ecosystems through interactive innovations. Beyond basic payments, Alibaba's "Touch and Pay" has collaborated with partners to create over 50 "Touch and Pay + X" industry solutions. From initial payments to membership sign-ups, food ordering, and smart vending machines, it enhances convenience, efficiency, and consumer appeal across diverse scenarios.

At this year's Bund Summit, Youbao's "Touch and Pay" vending machines debuted, impressing industry insiders. Chao Hua, CTO of Youbao Online, marveled at how new technologies drive industry evolution, stating that "Touch and Pay" simplifies vending machine shopping from six to two steps, with a user selection rate of 91.37%."

This vision of a "Utopia in Progress," pivoted on payments and leveraging multiple sectors, echoes Kevin Kelly's prophecy in Wired magazine that people will live in a "protopia" (progress + topia) where continuous development and advancement ensure "each year is a little better than the last."

Indeed, as the saying goes, "Great oaks from little acorns grow," and this "future storm" unleashed by payments fills people with anticipation for an evolving future driven by innovation. Today, "Touch and Pay" is rapidly permeating every aspect of life, subtly reshaping national habits. As "Hey Bro, Touch and Pay!" becomes ingrained in people's minds, the era of "Touch and Pay for Everything" is dawning, showcasing China's speed and energy to the world.