Online payment tool looks beyond China's borders

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.

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.