WorldPay, a player in payment processing, risk and alternative payments, has announced that Microsoft is using its alternative payments programme to capture growth in China, following an agreement to allow consumers in China to purchase apps and games from Windows Phone Store and Office subscriptions from O365.
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, found that in China, Alipay has a 60% market share in eCommerce 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 eCommerce UnionPay transactions, WorldPay enables merchants to sell directly to consumers in this market, as well as UnionPay cardholders outside of China.
Today, APMs account for $212 billion (or 22%) of global eCommerce 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.
Phillip McGriskin, chief product officer, WorldPay, said: "eCommerce 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.
"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.
"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. For WorldPay, this is another exciting journey into the Chinese market, and to be working alongside Microsoft is a great privilege."
WorldPay continues to expand its APM offering globally in order to help global brands capture the demand for this payment type. WorldPay aims to provide merchants with the greatest concentration of payment services in the world, with alternative payment functionality for 200+ payment schemes worldwide. There are 30 additional alternative payment methods in development and scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2013.