The bank has entered an agreement with Alipay earlier in 2018, enabling Chinese customers to carry out payments at merchant outlets in the UAE using Alipay digital wallets on smartphones and tablets.
Dubai is raising its profile in China to attract more tourists after their number surged 9% in the first half of 2018 to 453,000 from the same period in 2017, according to figures from Dubai Tourism cited by The National. The UAE introduced visa-on-arrival for Chinese nationals in 2016 to help boost tourism.
Currently, 150 of Mashreq’s retail partners have been equipped with the technology to facilitate Alipay transactions, the bank identifying 1,000 appealing merchants to Chinese tourists – including fashion, luxury goods, jewelry brands and hotels.
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