Mobile payment has spread to almost every corner of people’s lives in China. [Photo by Cai Meng/China Daily]

More than 688 million users sent or received hongbao on WeChat on Lunar New Year's Eve this year, up 15 percent from last year, according to a data report released by Tencent on Feb 17. The post-1980 generation users made up the maximum user group.

Another survey made by the Fuzhou Commerce Bureau shows that 93 percent of the business services accepted mobile payment in the southeast city by the end of 2017. A "mobile payment street" was opened at the intersection of the Dongjiekou Business District and Daming Road to promote transactions through mobile devices.

Cheetah Global Lab, a mobile internet research institute based in Beijing, released a list of the top 10 app categories in 2017 based on growth in the weekly active penetration rate (basically the number of users who logged on at least once a week). Mobile payment ranked No. 4 behind only bike-sharing, fresh grocery delivery and short-form videos, a bumper 172 percent growth over the previous year.