Merchants using the Adyen payments platform in North America and across much of Europe have this week begun accepting payment from Chinese consumers using their Alipay-enabled mobile devices, Ant Financial Services Group said Tuesday.
The agreement came in time for China’s National Day Golden Week, which started on Sunday, Oct. 1. During the seven-day holiday, over four million outbound Chinese tourists will travel abroad. At least one report notes that U.K. retailers could take in more than $337 million from Chinese visitors over the week.
“Europe and the US are popular destinations for the Chinese tourists, so it’s vital that retailers are able to cater to their needs,” said Souheil Badran, President, Alipay North America. “Given the capabilities built into Adyen’s omnichannel service for retailers, as well as Alipay’s included marketing solution, we look forward to enhancing what it means to deliver an integrated retail solution for retailers.”
Through the agreement, Alipay has been fully integrated into the Adyen platform, meaning there’s no need for merchants to use any additional terminals or devices in their stores. Alipay is simply added as a new option to their existing payment terminals.
“Chinese tourists are an important audience for retailers to consider. At Adyen, we’re committed to making payments processes as easy as possible for retailers, while delivering a great experience for customers,” saidRoelant Prins, Adyen’s chief commercial officer. “Our partnership with Alipay helps retailers unlock an enormous opportunity to grow and gain more revenue. For Chinese customers travelling abroad, they will encounter the payment experience they are used to while at home.”
This agreement expands an existing relationship between Adyen and Alipay. They first tied up two years ago, with an Alipay integration primarily focused on online merchants, like Facebook. The new deal, which adds a POS solution for physical stores, leverages the existing online integration as part of an omni-channel experience for customers.
Amsterdam-based Adyen provides frictionless payment across online, mobile and in stores. Its infrastructure connects directly to Visa, MasterCard and consumers’ globally preferred payment methods. Adyen works with over 4,500 businesses, including eight of the 10 largest U.S. internet companies. Its customers include Facebook, Uber and Netflix, among others.
Alipay has over 520 million active users. Over 10 million brick-and-mortar merchants accept Alipay in China. Outside of China, Alipay is accepted in over 30 countries. Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese traveling overseas and overseas customers buying from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay supports 27 currencies.
