Briefing: Alipay to reach 7,000 Walgreens stores in the US by April

Walgreens adding Alipay to 7,000 stores – Alizila

What happened: Alibaba-backed mobile payment tool Alipay is expected to reach 7,000 Walgreens stores by April, Ant Financial announced on Wednesday. The mobile payment service is currently available at 3,000 Walgreens pharmacies across major US cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.

Why it’s important: Ant Financial claims about 4 million Alipay users travel to the US annually. The deepening partnership with Walgreens, the second largest pharmacy store chain in the US, is a strategic move to increase Ant Financial’s presence outside of China. Ant Financial and rival WeChat Pay have been eager to expand their mobile payment services overseas, hoping to cash in on the spending power of Chinese travelers. Last September, Walgreens made its first move into the Chinese consumer market by launching a flagship store on Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce site, Tmall Global. Walgreens currently operates more than 9,500 drugstores in the US.

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