SHANGHAI (Reuters) – PayPal Holding Inc has become the first foreign operator with 100% control of a payment platform in China, according to Chinese government data, as the US fintech giant sees a foothold more in a growing market for online payments.
PayPal acquired the 30% stake it does not already have in GoPay in China, formally known as Guofubao Information Technology Co., on December 31, 2020, according to shareholder data from the Enterprise Credit Information Disclosure System National.
No financial information was disclosed in the data. The buyout came a year after PayPal bought a 70% stake in GoPay for an undisclosed amount ， and then the first foreign company licensed to provide online payment services in China.
PayPal declined to comment.
Taking full control of one of the smallest players in the world’s largest payment market, PayPal competes with domestic payment giants Alipay, which is owned by Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group, and WeChat Pay , owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd, as China opens its financial sector.
The bet buying also comes amid Beijing’s antimonopoly campaign against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and other internet companies.
Last August, PayPal appointed Hannah Qiu as China’s business leader, with responsibility for creating a long-term strategy in the world’s second-largest economy. Qiu was a deputy officer at Ping An Group’s OneConnect insurance unit, according to PayPal’s website.
PayPal said in its 2019 annual report that its main focus in China is to provide cross-border payment solutions to Chinese merchants and consumers, connecting the country’s trading ecosystem to PayPal’s global network.
But in that area, PayPal also expects competition from Chinese companies.
Bill Deng, CEO and co-founder of XTransfer, a Shanghai-based payment platform startup that enables cross-border cash for Chinese buyers, was not shy about reporting its intentions for PayPal.
“We see China as PayPal in cross-border businesses,” Deng told Reuters.
Reciting with Samuel Shen and Andrew Galbraith; Edited by Kenneth Maxwell