- Rise of 500% based on figures from early last year
- Japan is fourth busiest overseas destination for Alipay usage
- “We are dedicated to supporting small and micro businesses around the world through our technology. Digital wallets like Alipay are not only convenient payment tools, but also smart marketing platforms to connect merchants and their potential customers before, during and after their visits to Japan”, says Alipay boss
The number of Japanese locations at which Chinese visitors can now use Alipay to settle their bills has risen by six times over the course of the year.
It is now possible for visitors from China to use their Alipay app at over 300,000 destinations in Japan, which represents a rise of 500%.
At the start of 2018, only 50,000 Japanese stores accepted Alipay.
It is understood that Japan was the world’s fourth-busiest foreign destination for Alipay usage during the Labour Day holidays earlier this month.
Certain establishments were more popular than others for Alipay users. Airport stores and department stores saw particular rises, while convenience shops were also popular.
In many ways, the development is unsurprising. China forms the biggest market for Japanese tourism in the world, with 27% of those who arrived in the country in 2018 coming from China.
Overall, 31 million people from countries across the globe came to Japan during the year. A total of 86% of these were from the wider Asia region.
According to a senior figure at Ant Financial, the firm which runs Alipay, cross-border payments are now much more efficient thanks to the development.
“Alipay has been providing technology support to our nine e-wallet partners to enhance their cross-border payment capabilities, and hopefully to bring more Asian customers to Japan and contribute to revitalizing the local economy”, said Eric Jing, who is Chairman and CEO at Ant Financial.
“We are dedicated to supporting small and micro businesses around the world through our technology. Digital wallets like Alipay are not only convenient payment tools, but also smart marketing platforms to connect merchants and their potential customers before, during and after their visits to Japan”, he added.
Alipay has become highly popular in recent years. It was founded in 2004, although it now has more than a billion users across the globe.
It operates on a network model, meaning that it can reach significant numbers of people quickly and in a range of markets.
Alipay works with a network of nine payment providers to ensure that its e-wallet services reach as many users as possible. These include the TrueMoney brand in Thailand, GCash in the Philippines, and Paytm in India.
Its app is its core product, and this allows users to make a number of financial services consumption decisions including the payment of bills, the opening of wealth management accounts and more.
It is compatible with over 25 currencies and it also has more than 250 foreign financial institutions involved.
To learn more about firms like Alipay and how they are changing the remittance services sector, head over to our news pages and read more articles.
