Alipay launches this year's 12.12 shopping festival at Santa Claus village in Finland. (Photo； chinadaily.com.cn/Cecily Liu)
Get ready for a shopping frenzy in Santa Claus' hometown at the Arctic Circle.
On Tuesday Alipay, the payment service of China's e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba, announced that it has extended its service to the northernmost part of the world: the Santa Claus Village in Lapland, Finland.
The launch is part of its "Double 12" shopping bonanza on December 12, when more than 1 million stores around the world will offer discounts in partnership with Alipay.
Chinese e-commerce firms in recent years have tagged December12, or "Double 12," as a shopping event, similar to November 11, or "Singles' Day," China's busiest day for online shopping.
On "Singles' Day" this year, consumers spent more than 120 billion yuan (17.4 billion U.S. dollars) online with Alibaba.
About 70,000 overseas physical stores from 16 countries and regions will take part in Double 12 this year, a move that will enhance Alipay's influence in European and American markets, according to Douglas Feagin with Ant Financial, which runs Alipay.
By the end of November, Alipay's payment service had extended to department stores, airports and restaurants in seven European countries, including Germany, France and Finland. Currently, about 100,000 overseas stores have connected with Alipay's mobile payment service.
