Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba recently signed a deal with French electronic transaction firm Ingenico. The deal will help pave the way for the entry of Alibaba's mobile payment platform Alipay into the European market. The two firms are planning to roll-out Alipay in Europe before the end of the year.

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Ingenico stated that with the Alibaba deal, Alipay would be integrated into its in-store payment gateway which covers a significant portion of the European market. Moreover, the integration of Alipay's services into Ingenico will mean that Chinese tourists visiting Europe can conveniently use their mobile Alipay app at any store the uses the Ingenico platform.

Alipay's foray into the international market started in 2013, with the plan to accelerate its global growth rate. On the other hand, globalization has become one of the three major development directors of Ant Financial, Alipay's parent company.

According to China Tech News, Alipay is currently providing international payment services to more than 2,000 overseas vendors scattered across 40 countries and regions. All in all, Alipay is supporting 14 different currencies. Aside from providing mobile payment platforms, Alipay is also making deals with transportation and tourism service providers to diversify its business.

The new deal between Alipay and Ingenico will cover Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The two companies estimate that Alipay will be fully operational in Europe before the turn of the year. The financial details of the deal between Ingenico and Alibaba were not disclosed.

TagsAlibaba, Ingenico, Ingenico news, Alipay, Alibaba news, Alipay Europe, Alibaba Europe