BNZ signs deal with Chinese giant Alipay
It will be easier for Kiwi businesses to take payments via Chinese mobile payment giant Alipay under a deal signed with the Bank of New Zealand.
From July the BNZ plans to offer its merchant customers the ability to sign up for Alipay in the first major deal done with a New Zealand bank.
Those with a Verifone terminal will be able to take the payments which up until now have required businesses to have a separate terminal.
Alipay offers consumers a digital wallet which includes a mobile app that allows people to do transactions directly from their mobile devices.
It has more than 600 million Chinese users and is said to have become more popular than cash in China.
Shelley Ruha, chief customer officer of BNZ Partners — BNZ’s business banking arm — said the deal would allow more Kiwi businesses to tap into the growing Chinese tourism market.
“Managing foreign currency in a country whose language you may not be fluent in can be one of the least enjoyable aspects of travelling.
“We’re delighted that we can help remove that hassle for Chinese visitors and make their Kiwi experience as easy and seamless as possible, by providing them with a range of options to make transactions, including those they choose to use at home.”
China is New Zealand’s secondlargest tourism market and visitors spent more than $1.5 billion here last year. The number of Kiwi businesses that accept Alipay has grown from fewer than 300 merchants a year ago to more than 2500.
But George Lawson, Alipay country manager for Australia and New Zealand, predicted it would grow even faster with the BNZ deal.
“This growth will be turbocharged with BNZ being the first financial institution to partner with Alipay in New Zealand.”
Lawson said that until now merchants had to have a separate terminal to access Alipay but having a bank on board meant it could go through a normal terminal.
Merchants who want to sign up for the service will initially need to have a Verifone payment terminal although BNZ said it would expand the service to other terminals over time.
It works through the terminal generating an Alipay QR (quick response) code which customers then scan via their mobile phone to pay.
Lawson said BNZ would charge merchants a fee for the service because it cost the bank to provide the service but it would be cheaper than the fee merchants paid when customers used credit cards.