Alipay’s recent international moves outside China reveal a very different approach from how brands such as PayPal and Apple have dealt with expansion.

Compared to the rapid expansion of Alipay internationally, Western players appear slow and overly cautious.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The most distinctive difference in Alipay’s approach compared to that of PayPal and Apple Pay is that it is not pushing its own brand into new territories.

In the global mobile payments landscape there is a clear distinction between the evolution of mobile payments in developed and developing economies, as well as in how mobile payment platforms spread internationally.

Some have pursued expansion in a brand-focused, centralised manner, while others have sought international growth via relationships with local partners.

While Alipay — nor its parent company Ant Financial — has global brand recognition that PayPal and Apple do, the reason for this strategy is that Ant Financial acknowledges that local digital economy participants understand their local markets better.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

It is also easier to collaborate with local fintech providers, as this greatly reduces the cost of getting involved in a market.

Ant Financial has sealed a number of partnerships in recent months, including a bid to purchase MoneyGram in the US, currently pending regulatory approval.

Ant Financial has also upped its stake in India’s mobile payments leader Paytm to 40 percent, as well as investing $200m in a technological collaboration with Korea’s Kakao Pay.

In other developing markets, Ant Financial has taken a stake in Mynt in the Philippines, as well as in Ascent Money, a Thailand-based fintech company that operates in several other markets across Southeast Asia.

Ant Financial has also teamed up with Indonesia’s most popular messenger app BlackBerry Messenger to help develop and integrate mobile payment and e-commerce services onto the platform.

In contrast, mobile payment service providers in developed economies have relied on strong brand identities to expand organically.

However, in their international expansion journeys so far, the likes of PayPal have only been able to tackle Western markets, where they can most effectively leverage this brand strength.

Developing markets are all at very different levels of development with different market environments; if it isn’t possible to fight market incumbents, join them.