3 ways to make more sales with Alipay
In the last years, the payment industry has led to a diversification of payment options available to consumers. The more payment methods you accept, the more revenue you can make if you choose the right payment methods for your store.
Beyond cash or card payments, more and more consumers around the world are opting for alternative payment methods which is: mobile payment.
Alternative payments include digital wallets such as PayPal, Google Pay, or instant payment services such as Revolut.
Today our topic will turn around Alipay. The Chinese mobile payment giant that is setting the payment trends even outside of China.
After introducing Alipay, we will discuss in this article how merchants can take the opportunity and make more revenue through the 1 billion user e-wallet.
What is Alipay?
Alipay is the most popular e-wallet in China with 1.3 billion users in 2022. After surpassing Paypal in 2013, Alipay held out in the Top position for almost a decade now.
Alipay is a payment method accepted both in physical stores and online. In China, even very small street vendors accept Alipay.
Have you ever heard of street musicians getting paid by mobile instead of coins? In China it is common to scan an Alipay QR code to pay a street musician. The photo below speaks of the cashless future of China.
What is Alipay used for?
Alipay is also used to:
Pay in restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, retail stores, hotels or even taxis and bicycles. Alipay is used wherever the client pays for a product or service in China.
Pay for financial services like taxes.
Pay bills (like electricity, water or heating)
Send money
Scan to pay: Alipay payments are done in a few seconds
Alipay in a physical store:
There are 4 options that allow a merchant to accept Alipay payment in a physical store, at the checkout, the client can choose the option he is most comfortable with.
The client shows the merchant his QR code to scan with his mobile App or a POS machine.
The merchant generates a QR code through the app or the POS machine and shows it to his client to scan.
The client can scan the printed static QR code at the checkout counter to pay.
Alipay can also be integrated with the cash register system for large stores and chains.
Alipay in e-commerce:
1- The client chooses the Alipay payment method at the checkout page.
2- The client is redirected to the Alipay official page to scan the QR code and pay in 2 to 3 seconds.
Why does every European business store need Alipay?
Get a massive customer reach with Alipay Plus :
How does it sound like to be able to reach 2 billion consumers with 1 solution?
Alipay, our official partner, has made it possible to accept the 8 major e-wallets in Asia-Pacific with 1 system called Alipay Plus.
Alipay Plus, launched in 2022, is a payment system that connects merchants and consumers around the world.
By integrating Alipay+, merchants can automatically accept the following most popular e-wallets in Asia Pacific:
China: Alipay
South Korea: Kakaopay
Japan: PayPay
Philippines: GCash
Thailand: True Money
Indonesia: Dana
Malaysia: TouchNGo
India: Paytm
The merchant does not need to open an account for each country-specific e-wallet but can accept everything in Alipay Plus's all-in-one system.
Discover more on Alipay Plus.
Alipay’s security is unprecedented
Safe and reliable are the cornerstone of Alipay. It is one of the most secure e-wallets in the world. Alipay has a very low dispute and fraud rate thanks to authenticating payments using the customer’s login credentials.
It has a relatively strict security mechanism, which makes merchants accepting Alipay more credible in the eyes of users. Thus, it can effectively improve the conversion rate and turnover.
No extra exchange rate costs
On one side, as a European merchant, you will always receive the funds in Euros. For example, if you are a merchant and you sell an artwork at €1000, when your Chinese client pays; online or in-store; you will always receive €1000 no matter how much the rate is.
On the other side, Alipay makes sure clients can make payments with preferential foreign exchange rates. When processing payments, Alipay uses a real-time exchange rate to convert Euro into RMB for payment. This advantage can save the trouble that comes with the foreign currency exchange.
How to make profit from Alipay marketing tools?
In order to occupy the foreign market, Alipay is always marketing with sellers: while merchants gain higher sales, customers can also find lots of discounts through promotions.
Alipay mini-program:
Alipay mini-programs are similar to integrated Web pages inside the Alipay APP, they do not need download or installation. Users can use Alipay mini-programs to shop, see the news, watch videos etc.
In 2021, the Alipay mini-program platform launched more than 3 million mini-programs, and the number of their monthly active users has exceeded 800 million.
Alipay mini-programs differ from their competitor’s WeChat. In WeChat mini-programs, the focus is more on games and live streaming. However, Alipay mini-programs are concentrated on business. About 70% of Alipay’s million-level mini-programs are concentrated on life services, and that is the best place where merchants can make more money.
Alipay coupons
When a Chinese customer is about to make a purchase, saving money and feeling like they made a good deal are two key decision factors. This explains why group shopping and group travels are so well received in China.
The MZ generation is called the "Coupon generation", this “Best deal” hunt has become a way of life to this segment. Used to filling their wallets with discount and loyalty cards of all kinds, some customers go so far as to get up early, wait in line for hours to benefit from preferential rates on the cinema ticket.
Alipay understood this very early. The mobile payment giant made this love for the good deals an ingredient of its success by allowing each merchant accepting Alipay payment method to put its own promotional coupon online. Indeed, each store referenced on Alipay has the possibility to make and offer coupons for its customers.
Every merchant having or wishing to have Chinese customers must not miss the chance to quadruple its sales using Alipay coupons.
Alipay geolocation tool:
Once your store accepts Alipay and includes its marketing services, there is no limit to the advantages merchants can get from that.
Once your storefront is listed on the Alipay platform, Alipay will recommend to its users a list of stores accepting Alipay nearby. Appearing on that list makes merchants have access to 1.3 billion consumers in an instant. Alipay will also send push notifications of shopping recommendations to its users.
Accepting Alipay with Silkpay:
If you are looking for a way to improve your store’s payment experience, integrating Alipay or Alipay Plus is a given.
Silkpay provides omnichannel payment solutions that can offer the best payment experience for our merchants and their customers.
Some of the benefits of Silkpay's payment solution
Official partner of Alipay in Europe
Chinese payment methods specialist: Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay
Expert in omnichannel payment and QR code payment
Accepts more than 30+ popular payment methods worldwide
Easy-to-integrate solution
Support by phone, live chat and email
Our merchants are protected against fraud
A dedicated backoffice where you can view and manage all your transactions
Bottom Line:
Alipay is improving not only the way people receive payments but also the way they buy. Alipay is not only a payment method, but the most popular digital service in China. About 90% of Alipay users are between the ages of 18 and 69. This proves that Alipay is going far beyond targeting a small group of consumers. It's the platform that meets the digital financial needs of all ages. Alipay has conquered the Asian market and is expanding its reach massively to the overseas market since few years ago.
Even better, Alipay works continuously with its partners to build an effective system based on the latest changes in consumer behavior and technology developments.
Alipay takes advantage of growth opportunities in the payments market and enables merchants to deliver better experiences to consumers.
Want to know more about Alipay? How to integrate it in your business? How can you benefit more from this Alipay? And what does Silkpay offer?