Alipay Lands In Greece Via Viva Payments

Viva Payments, a global, cloud-based mobile payments factory that provides secure online payment services to consumers, professionals and businesses of any size, announced news on Thursday (July 27) that it formed a strategic partnership with leading Chinese mobile and online payment platform Alipay. Alipay is the digital payment arm of Alibaba, the Chinese eCommerce giant.

In a press release covered by Finextra, Viva Payments said through the collaboration, Alipay users can access the service for the first time while visiting Greece.

“Our partnership with Alipay is of particular significance to Viva Payments, as it signals our universally directed corporate mentality. Payments via Alipay are now a reality in Greece, and we expect this novelty to vastly expand the potential of local businesses, making their service more attractive to a very significant market segment. This year only, Greece is expecting more than 150,000 visitors from China, and according to predictions, this number will keep growing. It is necessary, therefore, when dealing with this important touristic audience, to be able to facilitate their consumer habits. The continuous evolution of our services through cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships is key to our international development,” stated Viva Payments’ Chief Marketing Officer Panos Tsakos in the press release.

The network of businesses operating with Viva Payments’ online payments platform, VivaWallet, will channel Alipay transactions to several touristic locations throughout Greece, the company said in the press release.

Alipays deal with Viva Payments comes as the mobile payment service has been striking partnerships with a slew of companies to bring its payment service to customers around the globe.

Earlier this month, U.S. technology company Stripe announced it will soon open its merchants’ websites for commerce with hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers. The payments startup has paired with online payment platforms Alipay and WeChat Pay, making it possible for merchants worldwide to accept payments from both.

News of the partnerships coincided with Stripe’s Hong Kong launch. Credit cards are still only used by a fraction of Chinese consumers, whereas Alipay and WeChat Pay boast more than 520 million and 600 million users, respectively.