Alipay was created in 2004 as a tool to allow transactions on Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce site. But it has enjoyed exponential growth since, by introducing a string of financial products and services.

 

支付宝于2004年创立，作为阿里巴巴旗下的淘宝电商平台的交易工具。自加入一系列理财产品和服务后，其使用率出现指数级增长。

 

Now the popular payment tool is rolling out its businesses abroad to provide the world with its own brand of mobile solutions.

 

Overseas, Alipay is accepted at more than 100,000 merchants, including high-end shopping malls such as Harrods and Printemps, both magnets for Chinese consumers. In the latest national holidays, Alipay saw the number of its overseas transactions quadruple, among which Europe secured the fastest growth with 18 times year-on-year.

 

To quench¹ the thirst of wealthier Chinese buyers, Alipay even introduced its payment services in October at 10 major overseas international airports in Germany, Japan and New Zealand. Departure tax refunds² services processed by Alipay were also made available in 23 countries.

 

From buying luxury bags to paying Uber bills, the country's top wireless³ payment provider has a vision to serve 2 billion global customers in the next decade, with more than 60 percent of users from outside the Chinese mainland. Currently overseas users have reached 200 million.

 

Apart from setting up six branch offices in the United States, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Australia, nominating ex-Goldman Sachs banker Douglas Feagin to oversee⁴ global businesses fits the pattern for a global push.

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