Mobile payment "+" overseas merchants exploring digital business opportunities

Global Network Technology Reporter Li Wenyao: Hassan from Pakistan has been driving a taxi in Dubai for 18 years. This year, he felt two obvious differences: one is the return of Chinese tourists, and the other is the availability of Alipay

Global Network Technology Reporter Li Wenyao: Hassan from Pakistan has been driving a taxi in Dubai for 18 years. This year, he felt two obvious differences: one is the return of Chinese tourists, and the other is the availability of Alipay.

The period from the end of September to the beginning of October is not only China's Mid Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, but also Dubai's peak tourism season from summer to winter. This year, with the support of the Dubai Transport Authority (RTA), the taxi industry in Dubai has access to Alipay, which also means that Chinese tourists can directly use Alipay to settle when they use taxis in Dubai, eliminating the trouble of exchanging cash and change.

Since August this year, China announced the third batch of countries and regions that have resumed outbound team tourism, the attention to outbound tourism has continued to rise. Data from multiple tourism platforms shows that the demand for outbound tourism during the Mid Autumn Festival holiday has been centrally released. This also makes overseas merchants consider how to better attract Chinese tourists and provide convenient services through digital solutions such as mobile payments.

During the extended golden week of the Mid Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, the enthusiasm of Chinese people to travel abroad and experience "poetry and distance" is even higher. According to the latest service data released by Alipay, the overall number of outbound travel transactions of Chinese during the "National Day" has recovered to nearly 80% in the same period of 2019, and the per capita consumption has slightly increased to 105% in 2019. Allowing Chinese consumers to only hold one mobile phone can achieve convenient travel covering various aspects such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation, which has attracted overseas merchants.

UAE merchants deposit mobile payments

According to statistics from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the travel bookings of Chinese tourists to the United Arab Emirates as of September this year have increased by 115% compared to the same period in 2019.

In order to welcome Chinese tourists, during this year's traditional Chinese festival Mid-Autumn Festival, the landmark of the United Arab Emirates, the Khalifa Tower, also launched a lighting ceremony with Chinese cultural elements.

"There are many ancient Chinese poems extolling the moon. This time, we especially joined with Ant Group to hold the Mid Autumn Festival+National Day lighting activity. We hope that when you come to Dubai to look far, you can also see familiar hometown elements, including poetry and Alipay." Mouhamad Hoteit, the head of the viewing platform and sky view of the Halifah Tower, said that this lighting ceremony will run through the whole Mid Autumn Festival holiday.

The growth of Chinese tourists has brought development opportunities to the local tourism industry. Hassan said that in the past, taxis were charged in Dubai local currency dirhams or credit cards. This year, with the access of Dubai Transport Authority (RTA) to Alipay for the industry, Chinese tourists preferred this payment method when paying.

"When it comes to using Alipay, it is an opportunity for me and my peers. On the one hand, it is convenient for our drivers to check out and welcome more Chinese tourists; on the other hand, this new method will also make Chinese tourists feel very friendly. Maybe we don't speak English, but they will be very happy to be able to pay with mobile phones, and sometimes they will take the initiative to tip us on Alipay." Hassan said.

For Chinese tourists who have just arrived in Dubai, the convenience of mobile payment can be more directly felt at the airport. It is understood that at present, all duty-free shops in Dubai Airport have been fully covered by Alipay.

According to calculations, the annual compound growth rate of Chinese tourist throughput at Dubai Airport in the next 10 years is nearly 10%, far exceeding the growth rate of tourists from other regions of the world. "Rob Whitehouse, Vice President of Strategy and Development at Dubai Airport, said that this is also Dubai Airport's choice to cooperate with Chinese companies and bring more convenient payment methods to Chinese tourists. The most important thing is that we realize that compared to tourists from other regions, Chinese tourists have a higher acceptance of digital technology and are more accustomed to using mobile payment software. Therefore, we have also introduced China's most important mobile payment software to Dubai Airport

It is worth noting that not only the tourism industry is paying attention to digital services such as mobile payments, but local supermarkets in Dubai are also gradually integrating mobile payments to meet the consumption needs of local Chinese and Chinese tourists. Sun Jingsong, head of the e-commerce department of Wenzhou Supermarket in Dubai, said that at present, its seven major businesses, including takeout, have been connected to Alipay, and all five stores support mobile payment settlement.

Global Merchant Competition for Mobile Payment

At present, Dubai implements a visa free policy for Chinese tourists, and Chinese citizens can enter Dubai without a visa with a passport valid for more than 6 months. Upon entry, you do not need to apply for a visa and do not charge any fees to stay in the United Arab Emirates for 30 days. In addition, the Dubai Tourism Authority provides more convenient services and facilities for Chinese tourists, including Chinese signage in major shopping malls, WeChat navigation mini programs, convenient tax refunds, and driver's license verification.

Shahab Shayan, Senior Manager of International Operations Asia Pacific at the Dubai Ministry of Economy and Tourism, believes that in recent years, the number of tourists and investors from China has significantly increased, marking a significant turning point in Dubai's economy and culture. This trend also highlights the enormous importance of the Chinese market for Dubai.

Dubai has also launched many measures to strengthen cooperation with China in various aspects. Among them, the access to mobile payment methods familiar to Chinese consumers is also Dubai's efforts in improving services and promoting digital transformation. Shahab Shayan gave an example: "We hope to provide tourists with a relaxed one-stop travel experience. At the same time, when providing such travel experience, we hope to have a safe payment environment. For example, our cooperation with Alipay, and in large shopping centers, we also hope to provide tourists with a variety of digital payment methods."

In fact, Dubai is not alone in realizing the importance of mobile payments. In order to provide more convenient and secure payment services for Chinese tourists, many countries and businesses have chosen Chinese enterprises as partners to upgrade their payment methods. In Singapore, as early as 2019, Singapore Tourism Bureau and Ant Group officially established a partnership, and Chinese tourists can use Alipay in Singapore. In addition, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and other regions are actively promoting mobile payment access cooperation.

Gary Bowerman, a senior global tourism industry analyst, believes that: "The epidemic has entered a rapid digital development period in many parts of the world in the past three years, including in Southeast Asia, where mobile payment has penetrated into the daily lives of local people. So now returning Chinese tourists will find that not only large-scale shopping malls and famous scenic spots accept mobile payment overseas, but also small roadside stores scattered in the corners of the city, authentic restaurants that local people often go to, can now use China's Alipay. This means that Chinese tourists can Be more confident in using mobile payments when traveling overseas

Mobile payment "+" solution becomes a global digital operation tool

It is worth noting that with the upgrading of digitization, merchants are no longer limited to just one payment method when accessing mobile payments, but instead achieve the universality of electronic wallets across multiple countries through access ports. Overseas merchants realize that the dividends of the mobile internet era cannot be missed, and it is important to learn how to operate digitally. Nowadays, even small and medium-sized businesses are starting to use digital operation tools provided by mobile payment digital solutions to do business, advertise, offer discounts, and attract new customers, in order to attract more Chinese tourists in advance.

Sun Jingsong, the head of the e-commerce department of Dubai Wenzhou Supermarket, introduced that its payment end has been upgraded and integrated with Alipay+digital solutions to conduct in-depth consumption data mining and better serve customers. It can be seen that we can not only support the payment needs of Chinese consumers, but also support the mobile payment needs of consumers from other countries such as the Philippines through Alipay+. They do not need to change their electronic wallets, but can directly use Alipay+ports for payment. In addition, from our business perspective, it is also a very good digital operation tool

Alipay+is not an overseas version of Alipay, nor another payment software, but a cross-border payment and marketing solution based on Alipay's technology and experience accumulated for many years. It can help global electronic wallets achieve cross-border payments, allowing global merchants to seamlessly connect consumers in the digital age.

In the Middle East, in addition to Alipay, Alipay+has access to seven overseas electronic wallets. Alipay+is ready to accept wallets from China and its neighboring Asian countries, including Italy and Europe, in the United Arab Emirates. "Tan Jun, the head of Ant International's Middle East region, introduced: "In addition to providing overseas Southeast Asian users with their own wallets in China, Ant Group also provides another service. Overseas users can download the Alipay app and bind it with their local bank cards. This provides overseas users with more options, such as using their own country's electronic wallets or using local bank cards to bind Alipay China wallets for payment Settlement

Currently, Alipay+global services have covered over 5 million overseas merchants in over 70 countries and regions, covering various aspects such as catering, transportation, tourism, travel, duty-free, entertainment, and online shopping

In Singapore, as of October 2022, SingapoReimagine, an international tourism recovery project of the Singapore Tourism Administration, has used Alipay+technology and services, adding five "Alipay" from Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong to Singapore.

We have seen strong demand from the Asian region! We hope to provide a seamless experience for more overseas tourists traveling in Singapore through upgraded cooperation with Ant Group, rebuild their sense of familiarity with Singapore, and promote the digitalization of Singapore's tourism industry, "said Chen Jianlong, Director of Singapore Tourism Bureau

According to the "2023 China Outbound Tourism Trends and Digitalization Survey" released by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, after three years of absence, mobile payment convenience has become a major tool to win the favor of Chinese tourists. 95% of people feel more friendly to overseas merchants who can use mobile payment, and 74% hope for more customized discounts and discounts for Chinese tourists.

The latest data shows that when Chinese tourists travel abroad, their favorite functions to look up and use on Alipay are: exchange rate, coupon and tax refund. Meanwhile, during holidays, Chinese tourists are most willing to spend their budget on shopping, followed by restaurants and hotel vacations.

And holidays are the best 'consumption vouchers'. In the "outbound benefits" service on the Alipay app, with the help of local high-quality merchants, there will be diversified global coupons for different scenarios all the year round. At popular outbound travel nodes such as the May Day holiday, the National Day holiday, and the New Year holiday, there will also be seasonal promotions and upgrades. The new playing methods and new benefits that emerge repeatedly will also enable global merchants to actively link up and truly learn the marketing method of digital survival.

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