Business Wire IndiaAs Chinese inbound tourism gains momentum with the extension of visa-free travel to more countries and the resumption of international flights, Alipay, China’s leading digital payment and lifestyle platform, now supports its app in 16 languages, further enhancing the travel experience of international tourists exploring China.
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An international visitor pays with Alipay at a souvenir shop in China (Photo: Business Wire)
These languages include Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese.
This service upgrade allows international tourists to explore China with Alipay like a local, using the language they know.
For example, Italian tourists can download the Italian version of the Alipay app and use mobile payment services in Italian while making offline payments in China. Thanks to the app’s built-in translation tool, they can also use commonly used travel services such as ordering a car, booking hotels, and buying airline and high-speed train tickets on the Alipay homepage in their native language.
Using the Alipay app is becoming increasingly popular among international visitors traveling within China, as the country’s rich culture and history, stunning scenery, gourmet cuisine, modern transportation options such as high-speed rail, and convenient and secure mobile payments are becoming increasingly popular with international visitors.
A study on international tourists’ travel and payment experiences in China conducted in June 2024 by the Silk Road Research Institute of Beijing Foreign Studies University found that international visitors are interested in trying local mobile payment methods such as Alipay. The study found that 84% of respondents used at least one type of mobile payment in China. Of the international travelers who used Alipay, nearly 97% would recommend it to their friends visiting China.
Alipay also saw a surge in usage among international tourists in China. Spending by international visitors to China using Alipay increased eightfold in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year.
Since 2022, Alipay has been working with international card networks to further enhance its payment services for international travelers. After downloading the Alipay app, international tourists can log in and link their international credit or debit cards from Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover® and Diners Club International® to pay at the tens of millions of Alipay partner merchants across China, including restaurants, cafes, tourist attractions, shopping malls, street stalls and public transportation. Alipay also works with industry partners to provide international travelers with convenient travel services such as online translation, hotel booking, ride sharing, purchasing tickets for tourist attractions, using rental bicycles and public transportation.
In addition to paying with Alipay like locals, international travelers can also use their domestic e-wallet to scan Alipay QR codes and pay across China through Ant International’s Alipay+ solution. These 12 foreign e-wallets include AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), Kaspi.kz (Kazakhstan), MPay (Macao SAR, China), Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), Hipay (Mongolia), NayaPay (Pakistan), Changi Pay (Singapore), OCBC Digital (Singapore), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Naver Pay (South Korea), Toss Pay (South Korea) and TrueMoney (Thailand).
About Alipay
In the digital age, Alipay has evolved from a trusted payment tool to an open platform that connects businesses, institutions, service providers and other partners with consumers. Alipay enables partners from various industries to offer secure and convenient payment options. In addition, partners can communicate with their customers in China through Alipay mini-programs, lifestyle accounts and other tools and provide them with various digital services. The Alipay platform has connected over 80 million businesses with more than one billion consumers.
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