According to the findings in the “Alipay Profile 2019” by yStats.com, a leading Germany-based secondary market research firm, Alipay maintains its leading position in China. In addition, the service is continuously growing its international presence, helping overseas merchants to cater towards Chinese travelers.
Alipay dominates the mobile payment market in China
Alipay, operated by Ant Financial Services, is a leading third-party digital payment solution in China. It accounted for more than two-thirds of online shopping volume on Alibaba Group’s E-Commerce marketplaces in China and had a market share of above 50% in overall third-party mobile payment volume, as of 2018. Alipay customers used their digital wallets to perform a variety of payment transactions, including in-store and online purchases, transport and bill payments, and peer-to-peer transfers. Moreover, close to one in two Alipay users utilized the service on a daily basis, according to a survey cited in the yStats.com report.
Alipay embarks on partnerships to grow international acceptance
In China, Alipay faces growing competition from services such as WeChat Pay, the country’s second largest mobile wallet, referencing the yStats.com report. Both rivals target Chinese consumers not only at home, but also while they travel overseas. Ant Financial entered partnerships with various local providers to enable acceptance of Alipay in a larger number of countries across Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe. To encourage the use of Alipay when traveling, the company also cooperates with overseas merchants on a range of marketing campaigns, such as the Golden Week campaign.
