ACI Worldwide announced that it has expanded its relationship with Alipay to enable merchants across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to accept Alipay payments from Chinese shoppers.
The Alipay platform allows merchants to send relevant information and offers to Chinese consumers as they arrive in a country, attracting them to stores, restaurants, attractions and other locations of interest. This latest news builds upon ACI’s long-standing work with Alipay and now provides the ability to deliver a true omni-channel experience, with eCommerce, mCommerce and in-store payment capabilities.
Alipay, which describes itself as a ‘Global Lifestyle Super App,’ has approximately 60 percent of the Chinese market share for mobile wallets, with more than 450 million Chinese consumers actively using the service, and over 2 million brick-and-mortar merchants accepting Alipay across China. The app has an engagement platform that notifies consumers of special offers from merchants in close proximity to their current location, providing information about the stores as well as directions. Shoppers can leave reviews and ratings that enable merchants to grow their brand amongst the Chinese community.
ACI’s UP Merchant Payments solution provides merchants with secure omni-channel payments capabilities for card-present and card-not-present transactions. The solution combines connectivity to a global network of more than 350 acquirers and alternative payment methods, with flexible payment infrastructure based on an open API. ACI’s collaboration with Alipay opens up the opportunity for Alipay shoppers to have an enhanced face-to-face, in-store experience.
“The Alipay platform has a highly engaged user base in China. We’re pleased to be able to offer this growing base a ‘home-away-from-home’ experience, while giving merchants the ability to push relevant offers and information directly to them,” said Rita Liu, Head of Alipay Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“We are proud to partner with the largest mobile payment platform in the world, to bring an innovative omni-channel solution to merchants and the payments service providers that support them across many countries where Chinese tourism continues to rapidly increase,” said Markus Rinderer, senior vice president, Merchant Solutions, ACI Worldwide. “Transforming the experience for Chinese shoppers—and making it face-to-face without any barriers—brings value to all parties concerned, and supports our vision of enabling universal connectivity across the payments ecosystem.”
