The new license will allow Douyin to compete with heavyweights like Alipay and Meituan.
Douyin is acquiring Union Mobile Financial Technology, a Chinese mobile payment provider that holds a license for Point of Sales transactions, for CNY1.3 billion (USD193 million) to allow the Chinese version of TikTok to offer its users and vendors a wider range of payment scenarios in brick-and mortar stores.
Beijing-based Douyin is purchasing a 100 percent stake in Union Mobile, a unit of autoparts firm HyUnion Holding, HyUnion said on April 4 just before the long holiday weekend.
Once the deal is completed, Union Mobile will be merged into Douyin’s payment tool Ulpay which already holds an online payment license. POS devices process payments through bank cards and are one of the most common forms of collecting payments in brick-and-mortar stores.
Union Mobile posted CNY81 million (USD11.2 million) in net profit last year on revenue of CNY1.9 billion (USD262.6 million), according to the firm’s latest earnings report. The company posted a net cash inflow of around CNY75 million last year, and it had net assets of CNY649 million (USD89.7 million) as of the end of last year.
The payment arms of other internet titans such as Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings, JD.com, Meituan, Pinduoduo and Xiaomi already have licenses for both online and POS payments.
Source: Yicai Global
