Ant Financial Services Group and Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Thursday have announced their new forged agreement to establish the Alipay mobile payment gateway at Changi Airport in the next five years.
Alipay, the world's leading mobile payment platform 520 million active users, has been confirmed to serve Chinese passengers at Singapore Changi Airport for a couple for years. The new payment mode is now available at more than 78 shopping and dining outlets at Changi Airport.
"The Alipay mobile platform provides a brand new payment option to further enhance our Chinese travellers' shopping experience here at Changi, while also providing personalised information and offers for their enjoyment," states Teo Chew Hon, CAG's senior vice president for airside concessions.
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In 2016, Changi Airport hit yearly concession sales at US$1.7bn (SG$2.3bn), a third of which are accounted to Chinese travellers making them one of the top spenders at the airport.
Alipay will also be rolled out at Changi Airport Terminal 4 once it opens to the public on 31 October.
With the joint marketing agreement, Ant Financial and CAG aim to focus on providing a value-added experience for Alipay users.
"Alipay and CAG will collaborate to create passenger-centric content, providing information on ongoing promotions, as well as location-based information about shopping and dining options at the airport."
Alipay was first made available to tenants at the airport in May. It is the first Chinese mobile payment partner for the airport. Alipay is operated by Ant Financial, Alibaba's financial arm.
