Samsung partners with Alipay for mobiel payments in China

Samsung has partnered with e-commerce giant, Alibaba’s mobile payments arm, Alipay, in a deal which could see Samsung claw back some of the ground lost to rivals Huawei and Xiaomi. The agreement will allow Samsung to tap into one of the world’s most advanced mobile commerce markets. According to a report, Alipay deals with 58% of Chinese mobile transactions and 358 million Chinese consumers use their smartphones for transactions. The Samsung-Alipay partnership will allow consumers to pay for items and services inside and outside China.

Samsung has brokered a deal with Alibaba for a partnership with its mobile payments arm Alipay.

The deal means the two will work together, allowing people to use Alipay to transact using their Samsung phones in and outside China.

The deal is widely reported to be a big play for Samsung, which was once the top selling phone brand in China but has since slipped behind competition such as Huawei and Xiaomi.

Alipay is the biggest online payment firm in China, with Tencent’s WeChat coming in behind, and so opens up a viable option for many Chinese people that want to pay using their mobile phones.

According to the Wall Street Journal, some 58 per cent of all online transactions are handled by Alipay in China. With many people moving to mobile transactions and using their phones to pay for transactions in-store, this could also be a coup for Alipay.

According to the same report, some 358 million Chinese consumers are already transacting via their smartphones, making it one of the most advanced markets for mobile commerce in the world.