Chinese visitors can swipe Alipay cards at 110 Vodafone retail stores in Australia. (photo from Sydney Morning Herald)
Vodafone and (Vodafone Hutchison Australia) of Australia recently reached an agreement with Alipay, a payment platform founded by Alibaba, to break into the lucrative Chinese tourism market, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Under the agreement, Vodafone was allowed to advertise its prepaid SIM card to Chinese visitors to Australia through Alipay App,. Currently, a special offer for Alipay users has been introduced, and customers who buy Vodafone's pre-paid base package (Prepaid Starter Pack) will receive an e-coupon with a 50% discount.
Visitors can "pay to the store" at 110 Vodafone retail stores in Australia by swiping the QR code. At present, there are more than 500 Vodafone retail stores in Australia, and Alipay stores are mainly located in state capital cities, major international airports and larger shopping malls.
Since Alipay App entered Vodafone stores on Oct. 8, thousands of customers have enjoyed Vodafone discounts promoted by Alipay.
Customers would have to pay Alibaba a fee for each transaction, but Vodafone is now paying. This is a relatively cheap option compared to the large fees that overseas tourists face when using credit cards or other forms of payment.
It is understood that Vodafone is Australia's first telecommunications company to provide payment options for Alipay. In China, Alipay has reached 520 million active users.
More than 1.2 million Chinese visitors visited Australia in 2016, spending a total of A $9.2 billion, averaging 43 nights in Australia, according to (Tourism Australia). Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast are among the most visited places for Chinese holiday visitors.
A number of Australian telecoms companies are now trying to attract new users to match their rivals.