Swiss Davos to Launch Alipay for Chinese Visitors

Ant Financial Services Group today announced that Alipay is soon to be made available to most local businesses in the Swiss town of Davos, thanks to a partnership with SIX Payment Services, a pan-Europe payment service provider based in Switzerland. Restaurants, bars, supermarkets and hotels in Davos will be offering Alipay, all with merchant information available in Alipay’s in-app overseas traveller service platform.

Alipay, along with its arch-rival WeChat Pay, has aggressively expanded globally in recent years. Data from research institution iResearch shows that the value of China’s mobile payments market tripled to more than RMB 38.5 trillion ($5.6 trillion) in 2016 and is projected to reach RMB 55 trillion in 2017. Comparing the marketshare, Alipay accounted for over 80 per cent of transaction value just three years ago, however, it held a 54 per cent share of mobile transactions by value, while WeChat Pay claimed 40 per cent, in the first quarter of 2017.

With around 40 flights between the two countries every week, China has become the fourth largest source of tourists to Switzerland and the two nations experienced over 1.2 million two-way visits between China and Switzerland in 2017, up 12% year-on-year. Holiday is the peak season, as Alipay overseas transaction grew by eight times over National Holiday Golden Week in 2017.