Alipay rolls out 'Word of Mouth' software

Koubei, a restaurant review and local services platform under Alipay, rolled out its standalone mobile app on Wednesday, as it elbowed its way into China's red hot online-to-offline commerce industry, which is now worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

The launch came as parent Alibaba Group Holding Ltd upped its ante on neighborhood services to promote its mobile payment business and use Koubei as a test ground to implement its data-backed, "new retail" strategy, analysts said.