China`s e-payment service Alipay enters Korea

Alipay, China’s largest online payment settlement service, has made inroads into Korea. An affiliate of China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba, Alipay controls more than 50 percent of the electronic payment settlement market in the world’s most populous country.

Alipay held on Friday an “Informational session on Alipay’s Korean operation and seminar on electronic payment settlement trend” for Korean small and medium-sized companies at a conference room at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul. “Today’s seminar is an important occasion where Alipay announces the launch in earnest of our business in Korea,” Sabrina Peng, head of Alipay International, said at the event. “We will provide diverse services in Korea to play a bridging role linking Chinese consumers and Korean companies, and Korean consumers and Chinese firms.”

Alipay is the electronic payment settlement firm that was initiated by Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company. Alipay serves as a settlement platform by temporarily keeping transaction payments for goods and services between consumers and sellers, and then paying them to the seller when transactions are completed. A customer can make payment for online purchases by depositing a certain amount at an Alipay account in advance, or directly linking his or her bank credit card or debit card with an Alipay account.

Alipay is providing a payment settlement system to more than 1,500 sellers in 34 countries worldwide as well as China. The company is cooperating with more than 400 firms in Korea, including Hana Bank, Korea Information and Communications Corp., Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Lotte Duty Free Shop.

“We will play the role of checkout counter to enable Chinese consumers to conveniently purchase Korean products, and Korean consumers to easily sell their products to Chinese consumers,” Alipay said at the seminar. The service thus targets Chinese consumers who purchase products from Korean online shops and Chinese tourists visiting Korea. Due to rising demand for Korean products in China, total per-capita consumption among Chinese tourists in Korea increased from about 1,949 U.S. dollars in 2011 to 2,153 dollars in 2012. About 61 percent of their expenditures in Korea are reportedly used for shopping.

“On top of Korean wave in China, including the hit drama ‘My Love from the Star,’ Korean products armed with competitive quality and design are enjoying immense popularity in China,” Peng said. “For this reason, countless Chinese people are visiting Korea, and Chinese people’s spending in Korea is gradually increasing as well.”