Online payment platform Alipay, part of Alibaba Group, on Wednesday announced a partnership with U.S.-based Yelp that will allow Chinese travelers who visit certain U.S. cities to access Yelp's content.
Alipay users visiting New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nevada and San Francisco can now easily discover, plan, make reservations and share their experience with any local business using Yelp's content, according to a press release Alibaba sent to the Global Times on Wednesday. Additional destination in North
America will be added later this year.
Founded in 2004, Alipay has more than 520 million active international users and more than 450 financial institutions partners.
Alibaba will also launch mobile payment services in Japan in the spring of 2018, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.
The Japanese unit of Ant Financial Service Group, the Internet giant's financial arm, will offer a version of Alipay digital payment tailored for the Japanese market under a new brand, said the report.
The move is expected to transform Japan's cash-reliant shoppers to go digital. Alibaba is aiming to gain 10 million users within three years in Japan, the report noted.
