Shopify is partnering with Alipay, Asia’s leading digital wallet platform, to help merchants sell to overseas customers.
The new payment gateway will reduce checkout friction for consumers looking to make purchases with cross-border merchants using Alipay, which, in turn, will improve conversion rates for merchants.
Prior to the partnership, Shopify merchants had the option to offer Alipay as a payment method through third-party providers.
“At Shopify, we believe in a world of borderless commerce and are focused on helping our merchants build thriving businesses—not just within their own markets, but on a truly international scale,” said Kaz Nejatian, VP, Product, Merchant Services at Shopify.
“Reaching consumers across Asia is an enormous growth opportunity for our merchants, and Alipay has brought inclusive financial services to more than one billion people in China. Through today’s partnership, we’ll help our merchants provide the best possible shopping experiences for this new audience of cross-border consumers.”
The new Alipay payments method is now available to U.S. based Shopify merchants. Shopify will later expand the offering to other markets, including Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
The move comes shortly after the eCommerce platform announced its partnership with the social media platform TikTok, making it easier for merchants to advertise and sell products via the video-sharing mobile application to a younger demographic.
