Australian businesses are set to benefit from a collaboration between NAB and Alipay which will revolutionise how Chinese tourists pay for products and services.
NAB Executive General Manger of Deposit and Transaction Services Shane Conway said more than 1 million Chinese tourists visit Australia each year spending more than $11 billion.
“By making China’s number one payment method available to NAB business customers, we’re enabling greater customer service and providing our business customers with access to this large tourism sector which is a win-win for everyone,” Mr Conway said.
“We’re beginning pilot testing with a small group of business merchant customers in November, before making the payment system available to all merchants through existing point-of-sale terminals in early 2019.
“This means from next year, Aussie businesses with a NAB merchant terminal can offer Chinese tourists Alipay, their preferred QR code payment method, in-store, and unlock an opportunity to promote their businesses on Alipay’s marketing platform which has 870 million active users.”
Alipay Country Manager of Australia and New Zealand George Lawson said he is delighted to partner with NAB to help their business customers across the country connect to the ever expanding number of Chinese tourists.
“China is now Australia’s largest tourism market accounting for 81 per cent of the growth in tourism spend in Australia in the last 12 months. Enabling seamless payments with Alipay represents a significant commercial opportunity for Australian businesses,” said Mr Lawson.
“This deal provides tens of thousands of merchants the ability to switch-on Alipay seamlessly and reduce friction at the point of sale for Chinese visitors, residents and students.
“Beyond facilitating transactions, Alipay’s marketing platform drives incremental customers and revenue as it offers the best exchange rates and reduces the anxieties associated with using a foreign currency. We expect this deal will give NAB a significant advantage amongst business owners wanting to capitalise on the China opportunity.”
ENDS
Media Contact
Katherine Hornbuckle
M: +61 (0) 436 621 584
NAB Media Line
M: +61 (0) 3 8641 0180
Alipay via Jonathan Costello
M: +61 (0) 424 096 770
About NAB
For 160 years, we’ve been helping our customers with their money. Today, we have more than 33,000 people serving around nine million customers at more than 900 locations in Australia, New Zealand and around the world. As Australia’s largest business bank, we work with small, medium and large businesses to help them start, run and grow. We fund some of the most important infrastructure in our communities – including schools, hospitals and roads. And we do it in a way that’s responsible, inclusive and innovative. You can find out more about how NAB backs our community by visiting: nab.com.au/backingcommunities.
About Alipay
Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently works with over 200 domestic financial institution 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 40 countries and regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 29 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.
