Uber and Alipay team up for cross-border payment solution

Uber China has announced a partnership with Ant Financial Services Group (‘Ant Financial’) whereby a seamless cross-border payment solution is offered to Uber passengers from Mainland China taking trips outside their home region. The partnership will enable passengers from Mainland China to use their Alipay accounts to pay for Uber rides when they’re travelling in other regions. In advance of the Chinese New Year peak travel period, the service will be launched in Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and extended to more regions around the world during the year. ‘Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan have been selected as the launch cities for this partnership because of their popularity with Chinese business and leisure travellers, and their importance as key markets for both Alipay and Uber,’ read a statement from Uber China. Uber pasengers have been able to use Alipay to pay for their rides in Mainland China since 2014. However, until now, customers from Mainland China using the Uber app outside their home region needed to connect a dual-currency credit card with their account, and were billed for their rides in U.S. dollars. The partnership with Alipay will enable Uber passengers to pay for their international rides directly in RMB using their connected Alipay accounts, eliminating the need for dual currency credit cards or currency conversion. Eric Alexander, Head of Business for Uber Asia, said in the statement announcing the partnership, “We’re delighted to partner with Alipay, and to work with them to bring the convenience of their payment platform to our users internationally. As the only truly global ridesharing platform, we are increasingly seeing very strong demand from Mainland Chinese riders using Uber in other markets internationally, and this partnership enables us to provide these travellers with a more convenient, hassle-free payment solution.” Alipay and Uber both entered the Macau market in 2015, and have both recorded strong growth in user numbers since launch. Uber is the world’s only global ride-sharing app, active in nearly 400 cities across 68 countries and regions on six continents. In China, Uber is currently available in 37 cities, and plans to expand to 55 by the end of February. During China’s week-long ‘National Day’ holiday in 2015, Uber users from Mainland China took Uber rides in 255 cities across 58 countries and regions. Alipay is the world’s largest third-party payment platform, with over 400 million active registered users and 200 financial institution partners in China. Alipay recently announced that it will also partner with Uber’s Open API initiative, and will work with Uber on enhancing the user experience for Uber customers.