A vending machine in a McDonald's restaurant wherein customers can choose any McDonald's products and pay the bills all by themselves with WeChat or Alipay, etc. (Photo : Getty Images)
Alipay has emerged from a tool to facilitate transactions on Taobao, to a payment provider available in the international market. It is now accepted in more than 100,000 merchants overseas for globe-trotting and big-spending Chinese visitors.
Ant Financial, the division of Alibaba that owns Alipay, banks on its 450 million users in China as it rolls out its business abroad. According to iResearch, Alipay handled around half of the estimated $378 billion that Chinese online consumers spent in 2015. They handled it by offering an escrow service in collaboration with overseas partners such as banks, financial institutions and online payment providers.
Alipay is accepted in Finland by over 100 merchants from hotels, to shops and restaurants. This is through a partnership with ePassi, Finland's local mobile payment firm. They also have partnered with Concardis, one of Europe's largest payment service providers, so that Alipay will be an option to pay to more than 200,000 local merchants in Germany
Alipay also works with different agencies in Europe to cover payments of 930,000 merchants in the continent. In October, Alipay was introduced to major overseas airports across Germany, New Zealand and Japan. They offer services such as departure tax refunds as well as Uber/Grab ride services payment.
Douglas Feagin, head of Alipay International and senior vice-president of Ant Financial, said, "We aim to have at least 1 million merchants outside the Chinese mainland accepting Alipay in three years. Working with our network of global partners like First Data and Verifone will help us achieve the goal."
Besides Alipay, other payment providers such as WeChat Pay and Baidu Wallet are expanding overseas to cater to more people.
Tencent Holdings, the owner of WeChat Pay, allowed foreign stores in their payment service since late 2015 as long as the stores have a a trading license, an app or a website. WeChat pay is now accepted in over 10 countries and regions.
Baidu Wallet announced that it will be partnering with Travelers Box, an Israeli startup, to provide a convenient way for Chines travelers for foreign currency exchange before returning home. This enables travelers to credit their Baidu Wallet accounts by depositing money at the kiosks of Travelers Box.
The collaboration between foreign and Chinese payment services companies is benefiting both sides, as shops that accept the payment system see the potential for more Chinese customers while contributing to the ambitions of these Chinese companies to expand its presence globally.
