Alipay Makes Huge New Push into South Africa

Big news for any Chinese tourists planning to check out South Africa, as a new arrangement between Ant Financial—the parent company of Alipay—and Zapper, a major South African mobile payments platform, allows said tourists to take Alipay on the road into the country.

With the recent partnership arrangement, Alipay users will be able to use Alipay at the 10,000 merchants in the country that turn to Zapper for mobile payments operations. This includes a surprisingly wide array of tourist-friendly activities like restaurants and bars, as well as theaters and adventure parks.

Those wondering where else it can be used need only turn to the Alipay Discovery platform found in the app, and once a place is found, the customer can then pay in renminbi by using a quick response (QR) code provided by Zapper merchants.

Alipay’s head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) corridor Rita Liu commented “South Africa is a must-experience country for Chinese tourists visiting Africa. We are excited to partner with Zapper, the largest mobile payment provider in South Africa, to offer Chinese tourists a safe and convenient payment solution and seamless travel experience.”

This isn’t exactly new; certain reports have noted for years now that China’s had its eye on Africa for development, mainly as a country still stuffed to the gills with natural resources. So it only follows that there’s a brisk tourist trade there as well. Alipay, naturally, is eager to get its hands on that tourist trade and keep up its current position as the leading mobile payments firm in China; it wouldn’t be good news for WeChat Pay to take hold of that trade; it might be enough to tip the balance in favor of the rival firm.

With this development, Alipay has made a move to further cement its market share even as customers leave China. While the ultimate Chinese push on Africa may involve more extraction than tourism, the end result remains the same: Alipay is likely to be the dominant force in Chinese mobile payments for some time to come, supported by activities at home and abroad.