Baidu, a Chinese web services company best known for its search engine, has officially launched its mobile wallet application, Baidu Wallet.
The Wallet will link banking cards to the app, allowing users to transfer money, top up their SIM cards, pay for virtual goods and purchase movie tickets.
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The app will also allow users to buy goods from vendors that accept Baifubao, Baidu’s third-party payment service.
The announcement comes after Baidu’s main domestic rivals launched similar mobile payment platforms last year.
In January 2013, Alibaba Group launched its Alipay Wallet through its mobile payment arm, Alipay.
The wallet included a money-market investment product named Yu’e Bao, which was marketed as a high-yielding substitute for traditional bank deposits.
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By GlobalDataAlibaba’s Alipay processed over $150bn in transaction volume in 2013.
In August of 2013, another rival of Baidu, Tencent, launched their WeChat Payment, a payment and investment platform linked to its WeChat mobile messaging app.
In total, Chinese mobile payments reached CNY9.64tr ($1.6tr) in transactions during 2013, according to government studies.
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