Men's online purchasing power surpassed women's for the first time, according to a mobile and internet payment's security investigation report in 2017 released by China UnionPay Wednesday.

The investigation indicates that the ratio of men spending over 5,000 yuan (779.2 U.S. dollars) every month (23 percent) surpassed women (15 percent) by 8 percentage points. The main reason for this result is the increasing proportion spent on take-away food orders and virtual items relevant to games.

Offline consumption (supermarkets and restaurants) and online substance consumption are the most popular, with the percentage among all 73 percent and 72 percent respectively, followed by credit card payments (62 percent), take-away food orders (60 percent), calling taxis (52 percent), and recharging and paying for online games (50 percent).

The post-70s and post-80s demographic groups are the main purchasing driving forces. The post-70s have the biggest percentage of high-income population, with 51 percent having over 5,000 yuan (779.2 U.S. dollars)in disposable income every month. Although the post-90s' wages are the lowest, 23 percent of them spend more than 5,000 yuan (779.2 U.S. dollars) every month, which is the highest ratio among all respondents.

With regard to the telecommunication fraud issue, the easiest method is still using social media, such as QQ. However, the ratio decreased by 18 percentage points compared to that in 2016. Troy's virus, phishing, and verification code fraud also are common methods of payment fraud. The Post-60s generation is prone to being defrauded, and there is a higher possibility that the post-90s lose more money once defrauded.

The investigation was launched online by China UnionPay and public security organizations, as well as major commercial banks, payment institutions, and Tencent from September to November last year. There were 105,000 valid questionnaires analyzed, of which half covered many economically-active districts, such as South China's Guangdong province, East China's Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, Shanghai and Beijing.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn