Ant Financial’s push to expand global acceptance of its Alipay mobile wallet to wherever Chinese tourists go continues in Australia through Tyro, a fintech payments operation that obtained a banking license in 2015.
Heinemann Australia, a leading tax- and duty-free merchant with operations at airports, has launched Alipay at its stores catering to Chinese and other international tourists in Gold Coast International Airport near Coolangatta, Australia.
Tyro is the first Australian financial institution to enable domestic merchants to accept Alipay, following a deal Tyro signed with Alipay in August 2018, the release said.
“We are thrilled to have Heinemann Australia on board as our first merchant taking advantage of Tyro’s Alipay integration and proud to be the first bank in the country to bring this exciting initiative to Australian businesses,” said Robbie Cooke, Tyro’s CEO.
Tyro plans to begin adding other merchants to Alipay in the second quarter of 2019, the release said.
About 1.5 million Chinese tourists visited Australia in the last year, adding US$7.5 billion to the local economy, according to a Thursday press release.
