Alipay Teams With Tourism Australia; MoneyTO Adds Serbia Transfer Service

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes Tourism Australia and Alipay’s collaboration on the Sydney City Card program. Worldline and Rambus have joined forces for a smart ticketing solution in the U.K., MoneyTO added a money transfer service to Serbia to its platform and Google is reportedly looking to bring Google Pay to Israel.

Alipay and Tourism Australia are teaming up on an experimental Sydney City Card program to market the city’s attractions to visitors from China, CMO reported. The program will tap into geo-targeted marketing and enable customers to make payments for experiences. It comes amid the Chinese New Year, when visitors from China visit international destinations such as Australia. Alipay A/NZ Country Manager George Lawson said, according to the outlet, “The Sydney City Card pilot is an innovative approach to engaging with our largest tourist market and provides Australia with a critical advantage over other regional tourist hotspots during this peak annual travel period.”

In Israel, Google is looking to bring Google Pay to the country prior to the close of 2019, Haaretz reported. The tech company has been engaging with regulators, credit card companies, FinTech startups and executives from banks in meetings. As it stands, the digital wallet can be used to make transfers from one person to another in the U.S., U.K. and India beyond payments for goods and services. And, in Japan, Russia, and Ukraine, one can use the wallet to pay for mass transit. The wallet is also said to be used for handling concert tickets or airline boarding passes.

And, in the U.K., Worldline and Rambus have joined forces for a smart ticketing solution for trains in the country, the companies said in an announcement. Through remote ticket download (RTD) software from Rambus, Wordline is able to offer ITSO-based smart tickets. With the solution, the companies said they can provide consumers with an easier and more reliable experience for ticketing. Rambus Ticketing Vice President and General Manager Russell McCullagh said, “Rambus’ broad experience in delivering ITSO-based smartcard and mobile-based ticketing solutions across the UK transport ecosystem will provide a leading technology for an enhanced Worldline customer experience.”

On another note, the U.K.’s MoneyTO added a money transfer service to Serbia to its platform, the company said in an announcement. The company said cash pickup locations include Banka Poštanska štedionica branches in Belgrade and Subotica, among other cites. Its offering comes as roughly 2.7 million immigrants from Serbia reside in Europe, with 7,000 Serbian immigrants living in the U.K. MoneyTO CEO Galina Selicka said in the announcement, “With so many Serbians now basing themselves in different countries across Europe and the UK, MoneyTO recognises the need for a trustworthy, safe and secure money transfer service in Serbia that can be accessed by all.”