Alipay 📲

Have you ever imagined to go shopping without bringing any money or cards?

This is actually the lifestyle of hundred of thousands of Chinese people, since in the last years, they are able to pay mainly through an application on the phone.

The most common one is the powerful Alipay, which is a third-party payment platform that allows the transactions by transferring directly the amount of money from the client’s bank account to supplier’s.
Alipay has been operating since 2003, but originally, it was only a division of Taobao.com, a website of the Alibaba Group, and became formally an independent operation at the end of 2004.

This application has gained popularity among Chinese people thanks to its easy handling. There are only few steps to follow to use it:

• download the application Alipay
• register Alipay account using your phone number or email
• add the bank card

To make the payment you only have to scan the code given by the seller and then type the relative amount.

Now, Alipay has evolved from a simple payment tool to providing payment, living services, social, financial, insurance, public welfare and gradually covering the entire industry’s open platform.

Another similar payment platform available to Chinese consumers is Wechat pay which is contained in the Wechat application (the most well-liked social platform in China). Also Wechat red pocket allows to transfer money, but it is mainly used among friends, like an affectionate sign, not as a payment tool.

So, once arrived in China, you don’t have to be surprised about the fact that everyone goes shopping without bringing anything but a phone, and surely this payment tool will please you immediately!

By Chenyan Zhou