Alipay Company Review

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Andrea Barnes
Editor
Andrea is Communications Manager at FXcompared. Prior to joining FXcompared, she worked as a communications consultant for companies seeking guidance with their social media, marketing and digital… Read more
Genia Jones
Content Specialist
Genia is a writer for FXcompared. She has over 15 years of experience working in the financial industry as a writer, analyst, marketer, and content strategist. She enjoys writing about emerging trends… Read more

Founded in 2004 and based in China, Alipay was launched by the Alibaba Group and its founder, Jack Ma, to operate as a third-party online payment platform offering no-fee transactions. It is estimated to have over 300 million users and account for almost half of China’s online payment market. Alipay.com operates with many global financial institutions, including Visa and MasterCard, and provides payment services for thousands of Chinese businesses. Customers can transfer funds in over 14 different currencies and to most major regions of the world using Alipay’s global funds transfer service.

Fees & Exchange Rate

Customers gave consistently positive feedback for Alipay’s no-fee structure. The company launched with a goal of providing no-fee money transfers and payments, and today customers give it high praise for its ability to save them money on their domestic and international transfer costs. Many reviewers also claimed that they received a better rate through Alipay’s platform than they would have through their bank. Overall, customer reviews were either positive or neutral towards Alipay’s no-fee policy and exchange rates.

Global Reach / Currencies Available

Alipay is China’s largest payments platform, but has expanded its services to send money overseas and in multiple currencies. While its main focus continues to be the domestic Chinese market, today Alipay sends money to most major regions of the world. Through its parent company, the Alibaba Group, Alipay has access to a global network of businesses and financial institutions. Reviews were generally positive for the company’s global reach and the amount of currencies available.

Transaction Ease

alipay company review mobile money transfer

This topic received numerous comments from reviewers, with the majority of commenters liking how easy it was to send money and make payments for immediate cash pick-up, or delivery to a bank account or mobile wallet. Reviewers liked the number of locations where cash pick-up was available, the network of self-service kiosks, and Alipay’s connections with many globally-recognized financial institutions for additional products, such as prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards.

Transaction Timing

There were a few negative reviews claiming that money had been delayed longer than one week, but overall reviewers seemed satisfied with Alipay’s ability to send funds in a timely manner. Most customers who commented on the timing of their transaction reported no issues or delays, with one stating that the money arrived ‘immediately’ for cash pick-up and that the recipient was very pleased.

Online Offering

Alipay offers all the usual online properties: a website where customers can sign up, submit a transfer order, find information, or get in touch with Alipay’s support staff, as well as a mobile app which functions the same as the website, and numerous online kiosks within China where customers can make a cash pick-up or submit an order. Reviewers gave overall high marks to Alipay for the convenience of the site and the mobile app.

Overall Customer Service / Helplines / Help centers

Alipay’s customer service was mentioned favorably in several of the reviews. Reviewers liked how easy it was to reach Alipay’s customer support staff to discuss a transaction or report a problem, with one reviewer claiming that contacting customer service quickly helped resolve a problem with a cash pick-up that had been delayed. Overall, reviews were positive for the ability of Alipay’s customer service staff to resolve issues and help answer customer questions.

Other products

Alipay maintains relationships with many financial institutions worldwide, enabling them to offer a number of other products, including payment services for Chinese businesses, and prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards. These additional products received consistently positive comments from reviewers, as did Alipay’s mobile app, which several reviewers found ‘easy to use’ and ‘very convenient.’

Overall summary

Alipay is the China-based, third-party online payments service platform launched by the Alibaba Group. Alipay is currently estimated to have over 300 million users and to account for about half of China’s online payments market. It’s obvious from the reviews that the company’s services are well-received, with some reviewers commenting on the ease of making payments to vendors or to friends or family using Alipay’s no-fee transfer service, while others liked the convenience of Alipay’s numerous cash pick-up locations.

The negative reviews we could find tended to focus on international payment issues and delayed funds. These negative reviews were outweighed by the positive reviews, but there was a consistency to them. Overall, Alipay seemed popular with most reviewers, but delayed transfers were the most-mentioned negative review we could find.

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