Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) are crucial for businesses to attract customers in all geographies, particularly in markets like China, where more than a third of internet users are regular online shoppers and have specific local payment preferences.

WorldPay’s Optimising your Alternative Payments report, an in-depth study of the APM landscape, concluded that in China, Alipay has a 60 per cent market share in e-commerce transactions.

WorldPay’s partnership with Alipay helps support global brands to expand into China and capture Chinese inbound business. As the biggest acquirer outside of China for e-commerce UnionPay transactions, WorldPay enables merchants to sell directly to consumers in this market, as well as UnionPay card holders outside of China.

Today, APMs account for $212 billion (or 22 per cent) of global e-commerce transactions. It is estimated that there are currently over 230 APMs operating globally including: real-time bank transfer, offline credit transfer, direct debits, eWallets, cheques and mobile payments.

“E-commerce has removed geographical boundaries, opening up the opportunities for brands to sell to consumers regardless of country or origin. WorldPay’s partnership with leaders like Alipay and China UnionPay allows global brands such as Microsoft to maximise transaction success through truly global reach and acceptance,” said Phillip McGriskin, chief product officer at WorldPay.

“The ever-growing consumer demand for alternative payments means that merchants cannot miss a beat with their payment portfolio. As we know from our experience of the Chinese market, alternative payment types such as Alipay are household names, meaning that any merchant looking to successfully generate revenue must think carefully about their payment offering to consumers.”

McGriskin added that by leveraging WorldPay’s alternative payment capabilities, Microsoft can be confident that transactions are made swiftly, successfully and in the consumer’s preferred payment method.