Alliances to extend Alipay's presence in US market

Ant Financial Services Group, the operator of China's most used mobile payment service Alipay, will soon enable its hundreds of millions of Chinese users to enjoy data-driven in-store payments in the United States - the latest effort made by the digital financial service giant in its moves to go global.

Ant Financial, which is controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, announced on Tuesday its partnerships with US payment technology providers First Data Corp and Verifone, an initiative that is expected to help the Chinese company rapidly expand its presence in the country via the two partners' strong merchant networks.

Douglas Feagin, senior vice-president of Ant Financial and head of Alipay International, said in a keynote speech at Money 2020 in Las Vegas that the US market was vital for Alipay not only because it is a popular destination of Chinese visitors and tourists.