Merchants offering Alipay as a payment option in their store will receive settlements in Sri Lanka rupees. They can integrate it into their existing point-of-sales machines or simply use the Alipay mobile app, Sampath Bank said.
"This partnership offers the growing number of Chinese nationals visiting and residing in Sri Lanka … to pay for their purchases in the island, thereby helping local merchants boost sales volumes and earn more," Ajith Salgado, Chief Information Officer of Sampath Bank said in a statement.
Sampath is the first bank in Sri Lanka to offer the facility.
"China is now the second largest tourist source market for Sri Lanka. In the first ten months of 2017, more than 230,000 Chinese tourists visited the country," Cherry Huang General Manager of Alipay Cross-Border Business, South and South East Asia said.
"Alipay also helps to bring the seamless payment experience Chinese consumers enjoy at home to overseas destinations.
"We are looking forward to working with local partners to expand the local merchant network, to benefit both the local economy and Chinese tourists."
Interblocks, a Sri Lanka based firm focusing on e-commerce and mobile technology, had integrated Alipay with Sampath Bank's systems.
Source: http://www.economynext.com/Sri_Lanka_s_Sampath_to_accept_Alipay_payments-3-9874.html
