Alipay: cover all the payment through your journey

Cui ZHANG, Xiaoqing YU

Keywords: oversea payment, Alipay, Information and Communication Technology

In recent 10 years, Alipay as a new mode of payment is sprouting in China. Now, with 700 million users around the world, Alipay has become an important part in the daily life of Chinese people. At the beginning of Alipay, it was created as a third party payment platform like PayPal to solve the safety and security problem of TAOBAO. Gradually, Alipay developed more and more functions including cell phone recharging, paying utilities, credit card repayments, online transfer, etc. According to 2016 Alipay report, 71% of the total payment was finished on mobile system. QR code promotes the transformation from personal computers to mobile devices, which create a huge payment eco-system from daily life to traveling.

Dining in a foreign country can be trouble if you bring a lot of local currencies with you. In all the Lawsons and 7-11 in Japan, you can pay by scanning the QR code through the Alipay App for one bottle of water or an ice cream. Foreign visitors who shop for everyday items at convenience stores “are increasing,” Lawson Chairman Genichi Tamatsuka told a press conference (Jiji, 2017). Instant payment with mobile devices happens in the current exchange rate and often with no transaction fee. With all the statement on the App, you can get a clear view of your spend during the journey.

Airlines are the first to add Alipay to their payment basket. Sharing economy also follow the lead. Uber has announced a global partnership to enable Chinese travelers to seamlessly request and pay for Uber rides from either the Uber or Alipay app (Uber, 2016). This co-operation covers 68 countries, in all 400+ cities where Uber operates. You don’t need to open a dual-currency credit card to take a ride and the payment happens directly in RMB. Airbnb also adds Alipay as an option and 60 percent of new users have chosen to pay with it (Jason, 2014).

Foreign companies, especially shopping malls also can use Ali pay to get closer to Chinese customers. The suppliers can add Ali pay on the mobile, PC or in your stores. The process is simple and clear, 4 steps to get started, which are registration, qualification, application and integration. Till now, more than 10 super shopping malls have already introduced Ali pay to their customers like Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue in the US. And 120 thousand shops in Italy are planning to implant Alipay in 2017. 

Alipay has bigger ambition for the future life style. Recently, a brand new payment way is brought up by Jack MA, the founder of TAOBAO and Ali pay. The future star is called VR pay and is connected to another fancy technology – Virtual Reality. This new payment way enables you finish the deal with staring and nodding while wearing the headsets (Jiang, 2016). Xiaomi and Huawei has become the first group to insert VR pay. In the future, customers can do the payment when they are playing VR games or watching VR live.

Uber. (2017). With New Global Collaboration, Chinese Travelers Can Use Alipay to Request and Pay for Uber Rides All Over The World. [online] Available at: https://newsroom.uber.com/uberalipayglobal/ [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017].

Jiji. (2017). China's Alipay to be accepted at all of Lawson's Japan stores | The Japan Times. [online] Available at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/24/business/chinas-alipay-accepted-lawsons-japan-stores/#.WPdunHdY5E4 [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017].

Jason. (2014). Airbnb Adds Alipay as Payment Option as China’s Digital Influence Grows. [online] Available at: https://www.recode.net/2014/9/29/11631360/airbnb-adds-alipay-as-payment-option-as-chinas-digital-influence-grows [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017].

Jiang, S. (2016). Alibaba's new payment system lets virtual reality shoppers pay by nodding. [online] Reuters. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-ant-financial-vr-idUSKCN12C1N8 [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017].