Payworks Partners With Alipay In Europe

Payworks, a provider of point-of-sale (POS) payment infrastructure, announced news on Thursday (Aug. 3) that its payment gateway technology will be supporting the integration of Alipay, the mobile payment provider operated by Ant Financial Services Group, for mobile payment providers and Chinese consumers across the EU.

In a press release, Payworks said to increase the speed of market penetration in Europe, Alipay partnered with Payworks for technology support. Payworks provides the point-of-sale payment gateway technology for next generation POS solutions. Through their developer-focused technology, the integration of Alipay into existing retailers’ POS systems is easy and fast, even alongside traditional payment methods such as card acceptance, the company said.

“Alipay has garnered great brand loyalty among our users and to be able to deliver the same ease and confidence in payment while they are outside of China is important for us,” comments Rita Liu, head of Alipay Europe, Middle East and Africa. “With Payworks as a technology partner, we will be able to expand the Alipay platform quickly and easily across Europe, ensuring our customers have the best payment experience when traveling.”

Alipay, China’s leading online and mobile payment service, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, dominates the market, with 80 percent market share and over 520 million users. Chinese tourists are spending time and money in retail while abroad and, according to Payworks, their preferred payment method needs to be accepted by merchants throughout the EU.

With Chinese tourists spending over $261 billion in retail while abroad, an increasing number of merchants are looking to add the mobile payment option to their payment mix at the point of sale said Payworks in the press release.

“Alternative payment methods at the point of sale are gaining importance,” said Christian Deger, CEO and co-Founder of Payworks. “Alipay, with its impressive user base and customer engagement, is increasingly relevant for merchants globally, and we are extremely excited to play a major role in Alipay’s rollout.”