Vipps International, a Norway-based payments service operated by a coalition of more than 100 Norwegian banks, is the latest to collaborate with China’s Alipay mobile wallet in a partnership to capture more payments from Chinese tourists.
The integration will also enable consumers in the Nordic region to use their bank apps at Alipay-enabled merchants.
Vipps will enable Alipay acceptance at merchants immediately beginning in the Bergen, Norway, which is one of the country’s top destinations for visitors from China, Vipps said in a Tuesday press release. Vipps will work with merchants throughout Norway to expand Alipay acceptance next year, the company said in the release.
As part of its alliance with Alipay, users of Vipps’ mobile app will also be able to use Alipay’s QR code to make payments at any merchants that support Alipay, according to the release.
Finland’s ePassi, a mobile payments technology provider with 800,000 users that already supports Alipay acceptance, also will enable its domestic users to pay using Alipay at merchants that accept its QR code, the release said.
“Merchants will be in an extremely advantageous position when we allow Vipps and ePassi users from Nordic countries to scan those same QR codes to make cashless payments via their app,” said Berit Svensen, head of Vipps International, in the release.
Chinese tourism to Norway has soared 575 percent over the last decade, with Bergen and Oslo the two most-visited cities, according to the release.
