Alibaba.com's leading online payment system in China, AliPay, announced the launch of a new service offering customers the ability to use the Visa credit card to fund their online purchases. The payment system provides buyers and sellers on two of Alibaba's online marketplaces, Alibaba China (B2B) and Taobao.com (C2C), with a comprehensive payment solution. AliPay customers can fund payments three ways: Visa card, wire transfer and online transfer from their existing bank account. Payments are held in escrow until the buyer indicates that the product has been received. Alibaba said it will also make AliPay available to independent merchants later this spring.
The company said Visa card usage is accelerating rapidly in China, with 6 million Visa cards issued to date. AliPay transactions have doubled in just the last quarter, processing more than $12 million per month in transactions, and more than 80% of the listings on Taobao utilize AliPay.
