The largest mobile payments company in Asia has now developed regional plans in the travel sector. At the moment, Alipay’s priority is to tap on the Chinese tourists to expand its acceptance points globally. The sheer massive Chinese population is proving to be a clear advantage for Alipay over other mobile wallets. With more than 48% of the third party online payment market in China, Alipay now plans to make overseas travel easy for Chinese tourists in Asian destinations.

Alipay Overseas Transportation Card is a service that allows Chinese tourists to buy transportation cards from their Alipay App in mobile phones. At this moment, Singapore, Thailand, and Macau has agreed to a partnership with Alibaba Group. In Singapore, Flashpay card will be now available for purchase on the Alipay application. The same applies for Thailand’s Rabbit Card and Macau Pass. They are also negotiating with Hong Kong’s Octopus Holdings. Sabrina Peng, head of Alipay International shared that they are working to expand the service in places that are popular with Chinese outbound travelers.

The payments juggernaut has made its intention clear. They will partner its existing Chinese customers and heavyweight transport merchants globally to expand into basic services – F&B and Transport.

When Chinese customers arrive at the airport, tourists can collect these transport cards by scanning a barcode on their phone. Additionally, unused credit will be refunded to their Alipay accounts when they return to China. In this move, Alipay is building customer loyalty even when Chinese users travel beyond China.

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