ALIPAY
16.2.2024 12:55:32 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Data from Ant Group shows a robust rebound of consumer spending during the first back-to-normal Chinese New Year (CNY) travel season after the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in cross-border tourism.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216321328/en/
Singapore's Yue Hwa Department Store welcomes tourists with banners showcasing acceptance of Alipay and other Alipay+ partner e-wallets (Photo: Business Wire)
Robust recovery, diversified destinations and scenarios for outbound Chinese tourists using Alipay
Through the Alipay+ cross-border mobile payment technology solutions, Chinese travelers may pay for goods, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment at over 8 million merchants in over 70 countries and regions, all from their familiar home app Alipay, with no need to change money or carry cash. Alipay also offers in-app instant tax refunds, as well as transparent and competitive exchange rates.
A global campaign has been in full swing on the Alipay+ merchant network since December 2023 to attract Chinese tourists. In the CNY holiday week between February 9th and 12th, the number of transactions made by Alipay users overseas surpassed that of 2019 by 7% while consumer spending recovered to 82% of the 2019 level, or 2.4 times of 2023.
Closer socio-economic connections between Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and the Chinese Mainland, the new visa-free policies from major Southeast Asia destinations and recovering international flight capacities are key drivers of the cross-border travel boom. While traditional Asia favorites keep their enthusiastic following, more distant destinations in Europe, ANZ, the Middle East and North America are also picking up in Chinese traveler spending.
Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Macao SAR, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, France, Australia and Canada are the top destinations for Chinese travelers by their Alipay spending. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore combined saw a 7.5% increase over 2019, and a 580% leap over 2023, with Thailand leading in total volume and Malaysia showing the largest increase.
Besides a larger physical parameter, the Chinese globe-trotter is also expanding her interest from traditional activities like shopping and tourism spots-hopping, to more immersive and unique local experience. Globally in the CNY week, Chinese tourists spent 70% more on food and beverage than in 2019, venturing from downtown hotspots to out-of-the-way local treasures.
In-town transportation volume grew fast thanks to the passion for "travel local". Alipay users in multiple destinations now may choose from rail, taxi, rideshare, car rental, bus, subway and even scooter-share when abroad, all from the familiar app on their own phone. The cost per ride on any vehicle for Alipay travelers dropped by 60% compared to 2019. A lighter carbon footprint also means more local SMEs on the public transport network gain a share of international tourist revenue.
China native: AI, popular culture and social buzz drive consumer enthusiasm
On Alipay's home front, 2024 is also the first time AI features prominently adopted in online holiday celebration nationwide. AI features in the app drew 600 million user interactions during Alipay's signature annual Five Fortune campaign. Over 12 million Alipay users created personalized digital red packets using AI voice and video generation technology on the Alipay platform.
Consumer enthusiasm is also fanned by major popular culture trends. Spending soared along Huanghe Road in downtown Shanghai, iconized in a recent hit TV series. Alipay figures show that the 2024 Chinese New Year Eve dinners at restaurants alongside Huanghe Road featured in the popular TV series Blossoms Shanghai were already fully reserved a week before the festival, with transaction volume going up by 800% year-on-year. Tourism businesses in the snow-cladded cities of Harbin and Shenyang in Northeast China were also surprised by an extraordinary influx of Chinese and international visitors thanks to a social media mega-buzz.
Robust intra-Asia flows among Alipay+ partner e-wallets
The Chinese New Year is widely celebrated across Asian communities. With new partnerships in 2023 and increased travel, total cross-border spending on the region's leading e-wallets powered by Alipay+ increased by 252% year-on-year. Daily average transactions increased by 304%. Japan, South Korea, Macao SAR, Thailand and Singapore are the top 5 most popular destinations for Alipay+ consumers besides the Chinese mainland.
International e-wallets and cards-enabled Alipay accounts saw multi-fold expansion in the Chinese mainland. Since September 2023, 10 leading e-wallets and payment apps in Asia have been serving their roaming users across Alipay’s 80-million-strong merchant network in China, also supported by Alipay+. Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover®, and Diners Club International® also expanded their collaboration with Alipay for travelers linking their international credit or debit card to their Alipay e-wallet. During CNY 2024, international travelers to China spent 500% more on their international card-enabled Alipay accounts at merchants in the Chinese mainland compared to 2023. Chinese restaurants, tourist attractions and public transportation are the most popular use cases for international visitors traveling in China and experiencing the festival.
"With its use spreading across age and income groups, increasingly mobile payment is becoming an important promoter of local and cross-border commerce in Asia and beyond, " said Douglas Feagin, Senior Vice President of Ant Group and Head of Alipay+. "We expect to grow our partnerships with the payment industry leaders, national tourist agencies and merchants in 2024 to generate more growth. "
About Alipay
In the digital era, 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 safe and convenient payment options. It also enables partners to communicate and deliver different digital services to their customers in China through Alipay mini programs, lifestyle accounts and other tools. The Alipay platform has connected over 80 million businesses with more than one billion consumers.
About Alipay+
Alipay+ offers unified global mobile payment and marketing solutions that connect merchants with multiple e-wallets and payment methods from different countries and regions by collaborating with global partners. Consumers can conveniently use their preferred local payment methods while transacting seamlessly in a different market and be able to enjoy marketing solutions offered by the merchants through Alipay+. Alipay+ is developed by Ant Group, the owner and operator of Alipay, one of the world’s leading digital open platforms.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216321328/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Modon Partners With Montage Hotels & Resorts to Bring Ultra-Luxury Hospitality Brand to Egypt’s Ras El Hekma17.5.2026 13:53:00 CEST | Press release
Montage Ras El Hekma introduces the first branded residences for purchase at the Mediterranean destination, alongside the region’s first Montage resort Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding and Montage Hotels & Resorts have announced Montage Ras El Hekma, which will introduce the first branded residences for purchase at Ras El Hekma on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. This is the first Montage resort in Egypt – supporting the emerging city’s growth as a global hub for leisure, business and tourism. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260517167234/en/ Modon partners with Montage Hotels & Resorts to bring ultra-luxury hospitality brand to Egypt’s Ras El Hekma (Photo: AETOSWire) Montage Ras El Hekma will feature 200 guestrooms and suites, in addition to 96 Montage Residences, and will offer a curated mix of wellness and leisure amenities, including beachfront swimmable lagoons, a Spa Montage with 13 treatment rooms, and six dini
Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale Selects MEVION S250-FIT™ for Southern Italy’s First Proton Therapy Center17.5.2026 08:00:00 CEST | Press release
Compact, vault-integrated platform selected through a competitive European tender will bring proton therapy to patients across Southern Italy. Mevion Medical Systems, the global leader in compact proton therapy, today announced that it has been selected to deliver the MEVION S250-FIT Proton Therapy System™ to Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale in Naples. The award, made following a competitive European tender, will establish the first proton therapy center in Southern Italy, significantly expanding access to advanced radiation therapy for patients across the region and reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to northern Italy for care. Until now, proton therapy in Italy has only been available at centers located in Northern Italy, requiring patients from Southern Italy to travel significant distances for care. The Pascale project supports a broader strategy to establish Naples as a leading oncology hub and to improve healthcare equity across Italy. “T
TetraMem Announces 22nm Multi-Level RRAM Analog In-Memory Computing SoC Milestone16.5.2026 10:43:00 CEST | Press release
TetraMem Inc., a Silicon Valley–based semiconductor company developing analog in-memory computing (IMC) solutions, today announced the successful tape-out, manufacturing, and initial silicon validation of its MLX200 platform, a 22nm multi-level RRAM-based analog IMC system-on-chip (SoC). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260516556464/en/ Photograph of the MLX200 chip with a five-cent coin for size reference The achievement marks a significant step toward the commercialization of analog computing architectures based on emerging non-volatile memory technologies, addressing the growing challenges of data movement, power consumption, and thermal constraints in modern AI systems. As AI workloads continue to scale, system performance is increasingly constrained by the cost of moving data between memory and compute units. Analog in-memory computing offers a fundamentally different approach by performing computation dir
STARTEEPO Invest Announces 5% Stake in Xerox Holdings Corporation15.5.2026 18:15:00 CEST | Press release
STARTEEPO Invest (“STARTEEPO”), an alternative investment fund focused on public equity opportunities, today announced that it has acquired a significant ownership position in Xerox Holdings Corporation (“Xerox” or the “Company”). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260515594020/en/ As of the date of this release, STARTEEPO and its affiliates beneficially owns 6.6 million shares of Xerox (excluding options), representing approximately 5.05% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. STARTEEPO has filed a Schedule 13D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) providing additional details regarding its investment. Investment Perspective STARTEEPO believes that Xerox represents an interesting investment opportunity supported by a combination of balance sheet initiatives, ongoing operational improvements, and its position within a changing and consolidating industry. In STARTEEPO’s view, the Company
NTT DATA Announces Intent to Acquire WinWire to Scale Enterprise AI Adoption and Accelerate Industry Transformation with Microsoft15.5.2026 16:00:00 CEST | Press release
Accelerates AI‑driven transformation through expanded agentic AI and data engineering capabilities that underpin NTT DATA’s AI strategy Adds 1,000 Azure engineers and AI specialists to scale cloud and AI delivery capabilities Advances NTT DATA’s North America leadership position, scaling industry aligned AI led innovation across its cloud services and Microsoft Business Unit Builds on NTT DATA’s position as the fastest-growing Microsoft GSI partner, accelerating co-innovation in enterprise AI NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and IT services, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire WinWire,an award-winning Microsoft partner specializing in Agentic AI, AI on Azure, data engineering and cloud-native development as foundational capabilities for enterprise AI. The acquisition strengthens NTT DATA’s position as a trusted partner to help organizations move beyond experimentation to operationalize AI at scale. The acquisition further advances NTT DATA’s
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom