Uber has announced a global expansion of their partnership with Alipay, the dominant Chinese online payment service, allowing mainland users to use their native payments internationally. Previously Chinese users would have to link their account to a dual currency credit card.
Its a major move for Uber, who have been running a multi-billion dollar campaign to boost their services in China. They can now potentially monetize on the 120 million outbound trips made by Chinese tourists every year, a larger population than some of the countries that Uber operates in.
Itโs also created a significant new foothold for Uber in their effort to outpace Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.
Through mutual investors and direct investment, Didi has created a formidable network of international ride-hailing partners, including U.S.-based Lyft, Singaporeโs Grab Taxi and Indiaโs Ola Cabs. Didi has already begun leveraging this network to capture the market of traveling consumers. This year they announced that Lyft drivers could be hailed in the U.S. through Didi Chuxingโs Chinese app, while Didi drivers can be hailed in China by Lyft users.
By expanding Alipay to the 400+ global cities and 68 countries that Uber is currently working in, they have essentially matched the potential payment advantage offered by Didiโs global network.
Through the partnership with Alipay Uber has also forged a strategic partnership with PayTM, a leading Indian payments company that is backed by Alipayโs parent company Ant Financial.
โAlipayโs collaboration with Uber reflects a step forward of Ant Financialโs global strategy,โ said Ant Financial President Eric Jing, โand the collaboration also extends to the Alipayโs strategic global partners like Paytm in India.โ
Alipayโs parent company, Ant Financial, recently raised a $4.5 billion USD funding round, setting a global record for the largest-ever single funding event for a privately owned tech company. Alibaba is the largest shareholder in Ant Financial, which spun off from Alibaba in 2014.
Interestingly, Alibaba is also a major shareholder in Didi Chuxing, which goes to show that when it comes to extending their international payment network, Ant Financial has no qualms crossing the lines of loyalty laid out by their biggest shareholder.
