Uber, Alipay partner for Chinese travellers-clad cross-border payment solution

While Uber already has presence in China, the company had previously required its Chinese customers who are traveling overseas to use a dual-currency credit card where they are billed in USD. However, there are only a few of these cards that are in circulation, causing its potential user base to be limited.

With the new global partnership, Chinese overseas travelers can directly use Alipay to pay for their overseas bills in CNY currency, thereby eliminating the need to switch currencies. The newly launched service will be initially available in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau as the three locations are closely linked with mainland China. And, according to the China National Tourism Administration, these three locations are among the top ten tourist destinations of travelers who are coming from China, techtimes.com reports.

With more than 400 million users, Alipay is the most commonly used third-party payment platform tool in China. It has managed to build a cooperation with over 200 financial institutions. The service is currently accepted in more than 500,000 restaurants, 40,000 supermarkets, 300 hospitals and one million taxis in China.

Outside the mainland, Alipay is available in over 5,000 businesses located in the regions of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, while other global regions such as Europe, Asia and Australia accept Alipay with over 50,000 merchant partners. The companys refund service is also available in 24 countries. Uber is now available in almost 400 cities spanning six continents and 68 countries and regions.