ALIPAY
12.6.2019 16:24:11 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
UEFA has announced a new exciting partnership with Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform, which is aimed at reinventing fan engagement experiences and bringing Chinese fans of European national team football even closer to the action than ever before.
The partnership comprises a UEFA lifestyle account that offers unparalleled insights into European national team competitions, as well as a mini-program where Chinese fans can apply for tickets in a simplified way to the upcoming EURO 2020. Both features are accessible within the Alipay app, the world’s most-used mobile app outside social apps. 1
The collaboration is the first of its kind for an international sports organization. The lifestyle account will act as a content hub for Chinese fans of national team football in Europe. Visitors to the platform will have the chance to read about all the latest developments in UEFA’s National Team competitions, as well being able to view exclusive content.
To complement Chinese fans’ digital experiences, the UEFA EURO 2020 ticketing mini-program - the first time that UEFA allows a digital ticketing channel outside UEFA.com worldwide - will be launched on the same day. Chinese fans can start applying for tickets from June 13.
“There is a real appetite amongst Chinese football fans for UEFA’s national team competitions, where they have the chance to see some of the best players on the planet in action,” said UEFA's director of marketing Guy-Laurent Epstein. “We want to be in a position to give our fans premium content in their own language and our new partnerships with Alipay allow us to do exactly this.”
The digital fan engagement solutions build on the existing partnership between UEFA and Alipay. In November 2018, the Chinese payment platform signed an unprecedented eight-year deal to become UEFA’s Official Global Payment Partner, Official Global Digital Wallet and Official Global FinTech Partner, for men’s national team events till 2026.
“We feel extremely delighted to be able to provide an innovative and inclusive solution in digital fan engagement, providing Chinese fans with more native experiences,” said Sabrina Peng, Chief Marketing Officer at Ant Financial. “Alipay has accumulated vast experiences in using mini-programs as a powerful tool to enable businesses in China and around the world. It is exciting to see the application being extended to football. We look forward to deepening the integration between football and technology in our partnership with UEFA in the next few years.”
Mini programs2 are light-apps that can be launched instantly on a main app interface, instead of having to be downloaded separately as native apps. They offer users faster access to various services as they can run from within the main app on any mobile operating system. There are more than 230 million active users accessing Alipay mini-programs daily for a variety of services ranging from finance and education to medical and transportation.
Over the next 12 months, UEFA will roll out a number of engaging and interactive digital activations and promotions on Alipay, which will bring Chinese and Asian fans closer to top European national team football than ever before.
About UEFA
UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations – is the governing body of European football. It is an association of associations, a representative democracy, and is the umbrella organisation for 55 national football associations across Europe. Its objectives are, among other things, to deal with all questions relating to European football, to promote football in a spirit of unity, solidarity, peace, understanding and fair play, without any discrimination on the part of politics, race, religion, gender or any other reason, to safeguard the values of European football, promote and protect ethical standards and good governance in European football, maintain relations with all stakeholders involved in European football, and support and safeguard its member associations for the overall well-being of the European game.
About Alipay
Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently serves over 1 billion users with its local e-wallets partners. Over the years, Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app. In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Alipay’s in-store payment service covers over 50 countries and regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 35 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay currently supports 27 currencies.
1
Source: The State of Mobile 2019
, by App Annie
2
Further read
on Alipay mini programs.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190612005617/en/
Contact:
Media Enquiries: Alipay Jing Yang yj196672@alipay.com +86 14716036560
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
Dominican Republic Drives Modernization of Electronic Passports Under the Leadership of the Thales - MIDAS Consortium25.3.2026 23:22:00 CET | Press release
The General Directorate of Passports, together with the Presidency of the Dominican Republic, are leading the transformation of the country’s passport issuance system with a new, secure, efficient document aligned with international standards.In 2025, the Thales-MIDAS consortium was awarded the contract to develop, issue, and personalize a modern, secure, and highly reliable travel document for Dominican citizens, incorporating additional cybersecurity measures. The Presidency of the Dominican Republic, through the General Directorate of Passports, issued the country’s first electronic passport as part of its strategy to modernize and strengthen national security. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324368065/en/ Passport of the Dominican Republic The new document was developed in partnership with Thales, world leader in advanced technologies for the Defense, Aerospace, Cybersecurity, and Digital sectors, and M
3D Systems Achieves Full-Scope EU MDR Certification, Accelerating European Launch of NextDent® Jetted Denture Solution Targeted for Summer 202625.3.2026 17:20:00 CET | Press release
Certification Marks Major Milestone in Strategic Dental Growth Initiative Addressing Straightening, Protection, Repair and Replacement of Teeth 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) today announced it has received full-scope certification under the European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) 2017/745. The certification was attained on Monday, March 16, 2026. This milestone confirms that the Company’s quality system, technical documentation, and clinical evidence meet the most rigorous regulatory requirements in the medical device sector. With the MDR certificate in hand, 3D Systems will now introduce MDR-compliant product versions through a carefully coordinated, phased rollout across its dental product families and European markets. This approach ensures a smooth transition while maintaining uninterrupted product availability for customers and healthcare providers. The EU MDR certification immediately enables the introduction of innovative new materials and is a pivotal step for one of 3D Syst
Visa to Bring Privacy-Preserving Payments to Canton Network25.3.2026 17:00:00 CET | Press release
Visa is the first payments company selected to become a Super Validator on the Canton Network, where it will help banks and financial institutions bring new payment flows onchain Visa (NYSE:V), a global leader in digital payments, today announced it will join the Canton Network as the first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator, to help extend privacy‑preserving blockchain infrastructure to banks and financial institutions around the world. Visa will be one of 40 Super Validators on Canton. That move goes straight to a core challenge for financial institutions: the same transparency that gives blockchains their appeal can clash with privacy expectations financial institutions operate under. Canton Network, a blockchain built for regulated finance, has privacy built in from the beginning, so organizations can use shared infrastructure without exposing sensitive information. As a Super Validator, Visa will help clients who choose to run and secure operations on the
ECU Worldwide Unveils XLERATE 2.0 Expansion to Bypass Asia–Europe Supply Chain Disruptions25.3.2026 14:30:00 CET | Press release
Strategic LAX gateway enables faster, predictable cargo movement through a reimagined sea–air logistics model ECU Worldwide, Allcargo Globals’ wholly-owned global subsidiary, has announced a strategic expansion of its transformative logistics solution, XLERATE 2.0, to provide a high-speed and resilient alternative to Asia-to-Europe trade lanes facing transit disruptions. Under this alternative routing, cargo is transported across the Pacific to the US West Coast, using Los Angeles (LAX) as a temporary hub. The solution leverages XLERATE 2.0’s premium, time-definite ocean services, ensuring greater transit agility and continuity. XLERATE 2.0 offers two distinct shipping solutions from China and Vietnam, providing shippers with flexibility as traditional trade arteries remain impacted by shifts in global logistics. These changes have led to reduced overall capacity and the disruption of standard sea–air services via conventional transit points. Commenting on the rollout, Simon Bajada, Re
Incyte Announces Executive Leadership Appointments25.3.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) today announced appointments among its executive leadership team to support the Company’s strategic focus and long-term growth plans. Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., has been appointed President, Incyte and Global Head of Research and Development. In this role, Dr. Cagnoni will retain responsibility for Research and Development, while also supporting enterprise-wide strategic planning and operational execution. Under Dr. Cagnoni’s scientific leadership, Incyte’s R&D progress has been notable, including advancing our mutCALR antibody, povorcitinib, CDK2, KRASG12D and TGFßR2xPD1 programs. Dr. Cagnoni has also continued to strengthen the way Incyte conducts R&D, introducing a new structure, processes and new technologies to improve productivity and keep Incyte competitive. Steven Stein, M.D., has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Late-stage Development. In this role, Dr. Stein will continue to oversee Incyte’s extensive and growing lat
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