FAVORABLE EXCHANGE:With the advancement of payment systems in Taiwan’s street markets and retailers from cash to electronic, Chinese tourists look set to make gains

Taipei Times
Date:  Nov 19, 2015
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) and Alipay (支付寶) yesterday launched a joint cross-border payment service catering to Chinese tourists, who have grown accustomed to using mobile payments over online-to-offline (O2O) platforms.

Alipay, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), is the world’s largest mobile payment service provider with 400 million users. It processes more than 120 million transactions daily, accounting for about 80 percent of the market in China.

“In addition to regulations and technology, user behavior is the most important factor affecting the proliferation of new payment methods, and we are happy to make the familiar and convenient service available for Chinese visitors during their stay in Taiwan,” E.Sun Financial president Joseph Huang (黃男州) said at a launch event in Taipei.     [FULL  STORY]