As the Year of the Snake begins, merchants in China are optimistic about a prosperous Chinese New Year. Payments giant Alipay+ is partnering with merchants to make sure the holiday is both smooth and profitable through special promotions.
The holiday is a prime time for tourists to visit China or for émigrés to return home. Indeed, the government expects a record 510 million rail trips and 90 million air trips during the eight consecutive holiday period
Fueling this activity is the world’s largest digital payment market. More than 90% of China’s population uses mobile apps for payments. Among these, Alipay, a digital wallet and mobile payment app supported by Alipay+, commands a dominant 55% share of the digital wallet market, boasting more than 1.3 billion users. Its rival WeChat Pay is not far behind, with 800 million users and a 38% market share.
Given this, it makes sense for Alipay to target the traveler market during this holiday week. More than 100,000 stores, including major retailers and airport duty-free stores, have teamed up with Alipay to offer incentives and enhanced rewards for travelers. Additionally, Alipay and its affiliated payment apps are also offering special promotional packs in over 100 Consumer Friendly Zones in cities all over China.
The initiatives aren’t limited to China. Earlier this week, Alipay and Macau Pass expanded their partnership to introduce Alipay Tap! to more areas of Macao. The Macao Government Tourism Office expects an average of 185,000 daily visitors during the holiday, and a total of 39 million visitors throughout 2025.
Accommodating the Tourist Trade
Alipay has been gearing up for a surge in tourism for some time. Alipay+ allows residents of several other countries to use their home nation’s apps to make payments within China. In 2023, Alipay approved 10 foreign-based mobile wallets to integrate with its payment app. This strategy resulted in a tenfold increase in usage by foreign tourists compared to the previous year. During the same period, the overall number of active users grew sixfold.
Tourism is only expected to grow further. A joint report by Ant International, the parent company of Alipay+, and IDC found that tourism spending across Southeast Asia will rise by more than 330% by 2027.
