US payments provider Stripe announced a deal with industry giant Alipay that will enable merchants in the UK and Europe to accept payments from Chinese consumers.
The US firm hopes it will win business as a result because more and more western
Closing the gap between China and the rest of the world, Stripe has partnered with Alibaba’s Alipay
merchants are looking to attract consumers from the world’s largest e-commerce market.
The Chinese firm, which is owned by online giant Alibaba, is probably the best way into the country’s mobile and online payments market, given it is responsible for over half of its internet transactions, according to Stripe.
Credit cards are used by less than 10 per cent of Chinese consumers while a “strong majority” use Alipay , said Michael Bryzek, co-founder and chief technology officer of flash-sales site Gilt Groupe, who has researched the country’s e-commerce market, according to The Wall Street Journal. Alipay works in a similar way to PayPal.
According to a blog by Stripe engineer Christian Anderson: “Traditionally, paying with Alipay meant being bounced to a different site. With Stripe, Alipay users will simply enter their email address and a six-digit SMS code in Checkout. It works great on desktop and mobile.”
Alipay is plotting its own international expansion by enabling Chinese users to pay for more items across borders, and the new link-up with Stripe fits with that strategy.
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