Ingenico and Alipay are teaming up to enable Chinese tourists to use mobile payments in Europe. Merchants across Europe are seeing increasing numbers of Chinese visitors to the continent according to the following article.
Ingenico has teamed up with Alibaba’s mobile payment division, Alipay in a partnership that will make it possible and easy for Chinese tourists in Europe to pay for goods and services.
Ingenico which offers payment software and terminals stated that the partnership with Alipay will make it possible for European merchants to accept payments through the Alipay app. The deal will benefit thousands of merchants including bars, restaurants, big retailers and supermarkets. Alibaba will be assimilated into the European company’s in-store payment gateway so that it will be compatible with terminals that support European merchants.
Mobile payment services such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay have already been integrated into Ingenico’s terminals. This however is not the first time that the two companies are working together. Ingenico has been processing cross-border online transactions of Alipay users on behalf of air travel companies such as Air France and Etihad. The new deal is designed to allow Chinese tourists who have visited Europe to continue using the Alipay app to purchase products. The idea was brought about by the realization of the vast number of Chinese tourists that visit Europe. Unfortunately, the new service will only target the Chinese tourists and it is not clear whether it will be expanded to other users.
The Ingenico-Alipay agreement will fill a gap in mobile payment alternatives in Europe where Apple, Samsung, and Google Pay are in place, but have relatively low usage. The Alipay payment enablement is the big prize as it opens up a market of millions of Chinese Alipay-using tourists. The home run would be when Alipay is available for e-commerce purchases by any Chinese resident.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Associate Director, Research Services at Mercator Advisory Group
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