Alipay launches in Germany for Chinese tourists and ex-pats
Alipay has partnered with payment services provider Worldline to allow Alipay transactions to be made at participating retailers by Chinese tourists visiting Germany. The move gives Alipay a foothold in Europe, something it is keen to expand upon. The deal sees Worldline provide a gateway to which network providers can "effortlessly" connect. Following completion of the pilot phases in July, the scheme will go live.

Worldline, a European provider of payment and transactional services, and Alipay, have reached an agreement that will enable Chinese tourists visiting Germany to pay for goods and services using the Alipay mobile app at participating retailers, according to press release from Worldline.

Under the partnership, Worldline will provide its gateway, which network providers can connect to via a standard interface with minimum effort, to further expand Alipay. This enables the existing system for electronic payment processing to automatically recognize Alipay transactions, according to the announcement.

The current pilot phases will be completed in July of this year and after that it will go live. The next step will extend the service to other countries, according to Worldline.

"With Worldline as a partner, we can expand our market position in Europe. Based on these developments, each party gets great benefits," Rita Liu, head of Alipay EMEA, said in a statement.