Electronic payments service Alipay is set to provide support to 10 million European small and medium-sized businesses in the next five years.
Leading financial services company Alipay has indicated that it will enable 10 million European small and medium enterprises to be able to reach more than 2 billion customers which come from all corners of the world to Europe. Alipay intends to do this within the next five years. The payment service indicated this yesterday at the Alipay Partners Global Summit which held in London. It also expanded its partnership with Worldline which is its principal acquirer in the region and also introduced a new solution for airport shop services via apps.
The solution called Alipay mini-programs has been already debuted at Hong Kong International airport and allows travelers to buy things on the go without stress.
“Our aim is to improve the way in which individuals and businesses buy, sell and receive payments, and to do this, we need to draw upon the strength of our partnerships,” said Eric Jing, Chairman and CEO of Ant Financial, operator of Alipay indicated.
The payments giant also indicated that they will use the expanded partnership with Worldline to allow the European businesses to accept Alipay enabled payments. This, of course, will open the businesses to Alipay’s massive platform with as many users as can be counted who will want to take orders from these European businesses.
Eric further indicated that the growth of Alipay has been largely due to its partners who have contributed in no small measure in making growth possible. He said:
“Our growth has only been possible due to the network of partners we have established, and working together, we will make it easier for anyone to do business anywhere.”
Eric also gave a line-of-sight in terms of the goals for this increased activity in Europe. “Our innovative solutions will continue to help merchants in Europe better serve the growing numbers of tourists as well as e-commerce shoppers coming to the region from all over the world,” explained he.
Alipay is one of the world’s largest electronic payments systems with over 1.2 billion users in as many as 50 global markets. Founded in 2004, the payment service is the largest electronic services payment provider in China. Alipay currently supports about 27 different currencies and has partnerships with over 200 financial institutions.
The various ways, means, and methods that the payment service offers to users has become so diverse that it is now a complete ecosystem in itself. Users are able to perform a whole lot of activities directly from their Alipay accounts without much stress.
This expansion into Europe will open doors especially for European businesses that will be dealing with Chinese tourists and businesses as Alipay is the preferred payment service for the Chinese who will be capitalizing on this opportunity.
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