Alipay cooperated with Barclays Bank to access 110,000 British merchants

Barclays Bank recently announced an agreement with Alipay to help more UK merchants upgrade their existing POS systems to accept payments from Alipay without the need for additional tools, the Associated Press reported.

While helping merchants increase revenue, Barclays Bank also improved the shopping experience for Alipay users.




At the same time,the move is a step closer to Alipay’s goal of allowing users to travel around the world without wallets within five years.

According to the data, Barclays Bank was founded in 1690, is one of the world’s largest Banks and financial institutions, headquartered in London, the United Kingdom, the main business is banking and investment.

The cooperation with Barclays Bank has undoubtedly added assistance to Alipay’s market layout outside of China.
Currently, Alipay has more than 500 million users. Alipay ranked in the top 10 in terms of downloads on both iOS and Android platforms in 2018, according to market research firm App Annie.

It is understood that the merchant network of barclays bank in the UK covers retail, scenic spots, hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and gas stations.

Chinese visitors will be able to see recommended British businesses and discounts nearby, as well as business hours and travel routes, in the alipay app. And the merchant backstage of pay treasure also can help British businessman more pointed ground serves good user.

Since its arrival in the UK in 2016, Alipay has been connected to many scenes such as clothing, food, accommodation, transportation, playing, shopping and tax refund. In many stores and scenic spots in the UK, Alipay’s payment service can be enjoyed.

Alipay can be used in famous shopping places favored by Chinese consumers, such as harrods, selfridges, London heathrow airport duty free shops, The Body Shop and Holland&Barrettes. It can also be used in famous landmarks such as madame tussauds wax museum, Shakespeare theatre and London eye.

The UK is one of the popular tourist destinations for Chinese tourists. According to the British Tourist Board, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the UK will increase to 483,000 in 2019, an increase of 43% over 2017.

Last year, users of Alipay were doubled in the UK, and local merchants became increasingly accustomed to the trend of mobile payment spending by Chinese tourists without wallets.

Nielsen released a survey report in early 2019. The proportion of outbound Chinese tourists using mobile payment has surpassed cash for the first time, with nearly 60 percent of surveyed merchants reporting double growth in passenger flow and turnover due to access to Alipay.

In recent years, with the upgrading trend of Chinese cross-border tourism consumption is obvious. Mobile payment methods familiar to Chinese people, such as Alipay and WeChat payment, have also been gradually promoted around the world.