Alipay accepted at over 3,000 Walgreens drugstores in the US amid overseas push by China payments firm
- Chinese payments firms like Alipay and WeChat Pay are eyeing international expansion to capture a share of the lucrative growth in Chinese outbound tourism
Chinese consumers in the US can now use Alipay to pay for purchases at over 3,000 Walgreens drugstores, as Chinese mobile payments operators continue to expand overseas.
Walgreens is the latest in a string of retailers outside mainland China to accept Ant Financial Services' Alipay as a payments method. Alipay is currently working with merchants in over 40 countries and regions, recently adding Germany’s Oktoberfest and San Francisco’s Pier 39 to its list of merchant partners.
By April, over 7,000 Walgreens stores are expected to have Alipay installed as a payments method, helping to raise the profile of the operator in the US. The American drugstore chain operates almost 10,000 stores throughout the US.
“We are excited to partner with a company that has been trusted across America since 1901, and is constantly evolving to provide more Chinese consumers with a seamless and familiar way to pay,” said Yulei Wang, general manager of Alipay North America, in a statement on Wednesday.
Walgreens president of operations Richard Ashworth said that the chain is focused on “making shopping more convenient for our customers, including Chinese consumers.”