Leading fintech company ininal becomes Alipay’s first partner in Turkey. ininal, Turkey’s leading new-generation payment platform and a subsidiary of Multinet Up, today announced its collaboration with Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, a related company of Alibaba, that Alipay will be available for Chinese mainland visitors at bricks-and-mortar stores in Turkey.

This service will be first available in the facilities of Dorak Holding, the tourism company who plans all activities for tourists and manages numbers of merchants throughout Turkey, serving more than 85% of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey. Merchants accepting Alipay include Turkish specialty retailers, hot-air balloons in Cappadocia, shops, hotels, and Turkish restaurants. Merchants can connect with Chinese customers with digital marketing via the Alipay app while Chinese tourists visit Istanbul and Cappadocia, and those customers can make payments by using the same Alipay app to scan an Alipay QR code displayed on card terminals at the checkout.

Through the collaboration between ininal and Alipay, while Alipay users pay in Chinese Yuan during their visits to Turkey, Turkish merchants will be able to receive payments from Chinese visitors in US Dollars at Dorak Tour locations. Later this summer, Turkish merchants will be able to receive payments in Turkish Lira at existing and new Multinet Up merchants including global chain restaurants and retailers. Multinet Up, ininal’s parent company and the leading financial services company in Turkey maintaining over 40,000 merchants, will utilize its experience in building a network and infrastructure to expand Alipay acceptability. ininal and Multinet Up will work in collaboration with Alipay to further expand the network across Turkey. Jewelers, luxury clothing stores, museums and duty free shops are expected to join in the near future.

“The collaboration with Alipay proves the success of our brand has attained in the last six years. Alipay is the most preferred payment method in China and is widely used by Chinese tourists overseas. The fact that Alipay is used more than cash, credit cards and debit cards is an important data demonstrating the satisfaction it creates. ininal will continue to work with powerful partners globally to bring advanced technology and services to Turkey,” says ininal CEO Ömer Suner.

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Stating that the Chinese provided the highest increase in terms of not only the figures but also the tourist spending in Turkey, Ömer Suner continued: “We believe the payment convenience provided through this collaboration will increase the foreign currency that will enter our country and provide contributions to the reanimation of the economy.” In January 2019, a Nielsen report titled 2018 Trends for Mobile Payment in Chinese Outbound Tourism finds that Chinese tourists paid for 32% of transactions using mobile payment, overtaking cash for the first time, and that nearly 60% of merchants surveyed experienced growth in both foot traffic and sales after adopting Alipay.

“Alipay is finally coming to Turkey! We are excited to work with ininal to connect Turkish merchants with Chinese visitors before, during, and after their visit to this beautiful country, overcoming barriers of language and currency. We know our customers are attracted to the ancient and modern sights of Turkey, and the many different experiences it offers, from balloons, to bazars and beaches. As Chinese users’ preferred payment and lifestyle platform, we are always happy to introduce the best offers and must-visit locations of Turkey to our users through our platforms,” said Roland Palmer, Alipay’s Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa.