Bulletins

Shopify merchants can now accept Alipay

Shopify announced a new partnership with Ant Group's Alipay, which allows U.S. merchants to easily accept Alipay via a new payment gateway.

In a statement, Shopify VP Kaz Nejatian said that the new integration would make it much easier for merchants to sell to customers in China, presenting "an enormous growth opportunity for our merchants." That, in turn, could translate into huge growth for Shopify.

Shopify previously supported Alipay via third-party extensions, but now that the service is integrated directly into Shopify, adoption could rapidly increase. The new method "will reduce friction for Chinese consumers," a Shopify spokesperson told Protocol via email. When asked if WeChat Pay support might follow, they said "we are always seeking new ways for our merchants to reach customers and grow their businesses globally," pointing to third-party providers that currently enable WeChat Pay support.

 Shakeel Hashim

Shakeel Hashim ( @shakeelhashim) is a former growth manager at Protocol, based in London. He was previously an analyst at Finimize covering business and economics, and a digital journalist at News UK. His writing has appeared in The Economist and its book, Uncommon Knowledge.

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