“Alipay is making big inroads in Europe as Chinese tourists flock to the region, according to the leader of the Chinese firm’s European division. Roland Palmer, head of Europe for Alipay, told CNBC on Tuesday the company has tripled the number of European merchants accepting its online and mobile payment platform to “tens of thousands” in the past year.   “We’re talking about tens of thousands of merchants who are really excited about the opportunity that Alipay provides them to tap into those wealthy and middle class consumers who are traveling to see the world and want to buy great brands from Europe,” Palmer said in an interview from the Money20/20 Europe conference in Amsterdam.”

“Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform operated by Ant Financial, has connected more than 300,000 Japanese merchants as of early 2019 with tourists from Chinese mainland paying through the Alipay app…This was an increase of about 500 percent compared with the beginning of 2018, when 50,000 merchants in Japan accepted Alipay, amid a push by the Japanese government to drive greater adoption of mobile payments.”

“Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, today announced a new agreement with Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform, which will allow retailers to accept Alipay transactions in stores across the UK.”

“”Walgreens is focused on making shopping more convenient for our customers. This collaboration has particular significance for our Chinese customer population, who now has a new way to experience Walgreens,” said Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of operations. “Not only can they buy our products via our dedicated store on Alibaba’s Tmall Global marketplace, but they will now also be able to shop in the U.S. using Alipay as they would in China. We look forward to the ongoing evolution of our partnership with Alibaba Group.””

“While Alipay has grown rapidly in its first year of Canadian operations, the Chinese e-payment giant plans to focus on the spending patterns of tourists, students and other consumers from China, rather than potential local consumers.”

“With 870 million users, Alipay is quickly becoming one of the world’s largest mobile payment platforms (its user base is second to WeChat Pay, which has 900 million users). The purchasing power of Chinese tourists, who on average spent more than $5,500 on overseas trips last year, is a market U.S. retailers are trying to capture. For Guess, adding Alipay is also a part of its China growth strategy; letting Chinese customers use Alipay in the U.S. creates a similar experience that these customers would have shopping at Guess locations in China. Guess currently has 132 stores in China.”

“Alipay, China’s leading digital payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, and PIER 39, one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist destinations for shopping, dining and entertainment, today announced a partnership to create a seamless payment experience for Chinese travelers. Through the partnership, more than 40 merchants and vendors located on PIER 39, including Blue & Gold Fleet, Bubba Gump Shrimp, Fog Harbor Fish House and the Aquarium of the Bay, will now accept payment via Alipay’s mobile wallet through point-of-sale machines activated and implemented by CITCON, a leading cross-border mobile payment and marketing solutions provider that helps connect merchants with Chinese mobile wallet users.”

“Alipay has announced that its partnership with Motion Pay Technology Inc. has resulted in a significant number of merchants across Canada enabling Alipay acceptance at point-of-sale, according to a press release.  Through the partnership, Alipay is now accepted in all major Canadian cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Banff, among others, and across several categories including retail, restaurants, hospitality, and luxury.”