Alipay news and archive

Largest payment app Alipay to be China's target in tech crackdown

Chinese regulators have ordered sweeping changes to the country's biggest payment app Alipay, as the ruling Communist Party attempts to rein in "the unruly growth" of the tech giants. Alipay -- with more than one billion users in China and other Asian nations including India -- was told to spinoff its profitable micro loan business, the...

Retail

Shopify partners up with Alipay to unlock cross-border commerce

Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify has announced a new partnership with online payment group Alipay to support merchants with cross-border commerce. The new partnership will allow Shopify merchants to access new global customers, provide them with the opportunity to tap into the bigger shopping seasons and holidays, and achieve seamless...

Retail

Neiman Marcus adopts Alipay payment system in U.S. stores

The Neiman Marcus Group is integrating the Alipay mobile payment platform to its U.S. store locations for the Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus Last Call brands. Alipay was developed in China and allows international customers an easier, more efficient way to pay for their purchases as they can select which currency to pay in....

Business

Nepal bans Alipay, WeChat Pay

Nepal's central bank has banned popular Chinese digital wallets Alipay and WeChat, an official said Tuesday, fearing loss of foreign currency earnings from thousands of Chinese tourists that visit the country. Nepal Rastra Bank issued a notice on Monday, banning the use of the Chinese digital payment platforms popularly used in hotels,...

Business

Barclaycard partners with Alipay

Barclaycard has signed a new agreement that will enable UK retailers to accept Alipay payments in-store, to help retailer’s capitalise and increase sales from Chinese tourists. The move builds on a successful pilot over the past two years, stated Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, and will...

Business|ANALYSIS Featured

Guess? enhances its mobile payments in the U.S. to win over wealthy Chinese tourists

Guess? Inc. has bet strongly on China, both as a strategic market and as the home for one of the wealthiest shoppers groups it targets worldwide. The fashion group has partnered with Alipay to offer mobile payments its Chinese customers are used to at its most popular stores across the U.S. Guess? Inc. has recently announced a partnership with...

Business

Guess & Alipay partner up to simplify payments for Chinese tourists in the US

Guess Inc. has announced a collaboration with China’s leading digital payment platform, Alipay, which is owned by Ant Financial Services Group. Through the partnership, Chinese tourists visiting the United States will be able to pay for their purchases at more than 50 Guess shops using the Alipay app -- just like they would at home. “Guess is a...

Retail

China's Alibaba under fire over use of customer data

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has come under fire over its handling of user data in an episode that underscores growing concerns for privacy in the hyper-digitised country. Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial was forced to apologise on Wednesday after users said they felt misled into allowing its Alipay service to share data on their spending...

Retail

Is facial recognition the stuff of sci-fi? Not in China

From toilet-paper dispensers to fast-food restaurants, travel, beauty and crime-fighting, China is taking the lead in rolling out facial-recognition technology. But while advocates warn it makes life easier, quicker and safer, opponents counter that it is another example of how the Chinese government keeps a sinister and increasingly close eye...

Business

Alibaba unit invests 200 million dollars in S.Korea's Kakao Pay

Alibaba's payment affiliate Ant Financial will invest 200 million dollars in a unit of South Korean messaging giant Kakao, the companies said Tuesday, the Chinese firm's latest step to expand its global reach. The investment in Kakao Pay comes less than a month after Ant bought US-based payments operator MoneyGram for around 880 million ...

Retail

Wirecard to process Alipay payments for Chinese tourists

Wirecard Group and Alipay, a related company of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, have signed a partnership that will allow Chinese tourists visiting Europe to use its mobile phone payment services. It is hoped that the partnership will enable European brands and retailers to tap into the Chinese tourism market, which is estimated to be worth...

Design

Alibaba launches Alipay ePass for Chinese consumers on US sites

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba launched the Alipay ePass yesterday,a suite of products that will allow Chinese customers to purchase directly from US websites. For this reason, Alipay, the US' third largest third-party payment service provider, teamed up with San Francisco-based online payment start-up Stripe. For Chinese consumers, that means...