Alipay to discontinue offline-payment service

Industry observers say provider 'failed to address concerns' from State-backed competitor UnionPay

Alipay, China's largest third-party e-payment provider, announced on Tuesday it will discontinue its still-nascent offline-payment service, a move widely perceived as a capitulation to its State-backed rival, China UnionPay.

While the company declined to elaborate on its reasons, industry observers believe Alipay's encroachment into the business of offline payments was eating away market share once firmly held by the country's largest card processor. UnionPay has recently insisted that its services are still required to conclude all bank transactions.