Alipay aims for integration with 10m European SMEs by 2024
Alipay, the Chinese payments platform operated by Ant Financial, has announced a plan to support 10 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe by 2024.
Alipay claims 120 financial partners in Europe
The firm has extended its partnership with Worldline, allowing European merchants to accept payments through Alipay-enabled points of sale.
“Our aim is to improve the way in which individuals and businesses buy, sell and receive payments, and to do this, we need to draw upon the strength of our partnerships,” says Eric Jing, chairman and CEO of Ant Financial.
“Our growth has only been possible due to the network of partners we have established, and working together, we will make it easier for anyone to do business anywhere.”
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Six European mobile wallets are QR-enabled in partnership with Alipay – Bluecode (Austria), ePassi and Pivo (Finland), momo Packet (Spain), Pagaqui (Portugal) and Vipps (Norway).
Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) granted Alipay an e-money licence in January 2019.
According to the firm, it works with 120 financial institutions across Europe and is “constantly” adding more partnerships to its network.
Alipay launched a new prepaid card service for international visitors to China earlier this month, supported by Bank of Shanghai. It’s compatriot and rival, WeChat Pay, followed suit a few days later.
