Alipay, a Chinese online payment platform and a subsidiary of
Alibaba Group, announced on Thursday that it has signed a
cooperation agreement with New York-based Philliou Selwanes
Partners (PSP) to enable Chinese mainland consumers to buy directly
from US retailers.
According to the agreement, PSP will help promote the acceptance
of Alipay by North American merchants.
Jonathan Lu, Alipay's president, said it was a natural step for
the company to expand service in North America, as it had become a
popular online payment system in China.
Philip J. Philliou, Partner at PSP, said the agreement would
remove barriers and opens up new potential for North American
merchants to add millions of dollars in new sales volume from an
untapped market.
As of November 2007, Alipay had more than 56 million users in
China, with 80,000 new users registered each day. Alipay's average
daily transaction volume exceeds 23 million US dollars, handling an
average 1,170,000 transactions each day.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2007)