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Commonwealth Bank and Alipay enter landmark MOU to provide innovative payments solutions

CBA and Alipay sign landmark MOU

31 October 2016

Commonwealth Bank and Alipay collaborate to develop innovative payments solutions to benefit both consumers and retailers.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Commonwealth Bank) and Alipay, the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deliver payment solutions that will benefit Australian and Chinese consumers and retailers.

Under the terms of the MOU, the two companies will work together to make it easier for Australian consumers to pay for purchases made through Alibaba Group’s e-commerce websites, supported by Ant Financial’s payment infrastructure, including AliExpress, a platform for Chinese merchants to sell to global consumers.  

Commonwealth Bank and Alipay will also work together on a simple payment solution that allows Chinese tourists and Chinese students to use Alipay in-store payments at Australian retailers.  This agreement allows both companies to leverage the strengths of their collective e-commerce capability and Commonwealth Bank’s Albert smart payment tablet, powered by the Pi platform.

Mobile payments in China have increased exponentially in recent years. Last year, China overtook the United States as the world’s largest market in mobile payments with a transaction volume of US$235 billion, and China is expected to process $6.3 trillion in mobile payments by 2020. Approximately 19,000 Chinese tourists visit Australia every week and spend almost $8,000 per person.

“Australia is a popular destination for Chinese travellers and Chinese students studying overseas. We want Alipay users to enjoy the kind of convenience they are used to at home. We are working with regional and global partners like CBA to make this happen,” said Douglas Feagin, Senior Vice President of Ant Financial Services Group and Head of Alipay International.

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Group Executive, Institutional Banking and Markets, Commonwealth Bank said “We are thrilled to be the first Australian bank to collaborate with Alipay in building an innovative payments solution that leverages our leading e-commerce and point of sale platforms. We are constantly working on payment solutions that offer flexibility and choice for our customers so the prospect of bringing them closer to a globally leading mobile payments provider, and its 450 million active users, is truly exciting.”