One of the world’s most popular mobile wallet solutions in the world, China’s Alipay wallet has undergone significant chances as part of a platform update called 9.0. According to Alibaba’s Ant Financial which operates the wallet, the new solution will incorporate a wealth of new features including merchant discounting and loyalty points, mobile-to-mobile money transfer and social messaging services.
Fan Zhiming, president of Ant Financial’s payment business unit said,
“The new Alipay app is no longer a wallet. It is a platform which will change the way you shop, the way you spend and the way you manage your finances. It is not just another app, it is the super app tailored for every individual consumer.”
With Alibaba seeing mixed success internationally as of late, the launch of a revamped wallet should keep its base of around 320 million mobile users (almost the size of the entire United States) happy and unlikely to switch a number of other mobile wallet solutions available from Alibaba’s major competitors. Furthermore, with Apple Pay reportedly set to launch in China in the near future, the new and improved Alipay mobile wallet should have a significantly stronger value proposition to consumers.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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