Samsung eyeing partnership with Alibaba to take on Apple Pay in China

NEW DELHI: South Korean electronics giant Samsung is reportedly partnering with Alibaba to compete with Apple Pay in China.

Both Samsung and Alibaba are yet to officially confirm the collaboration. However, an announcement of the same is expected to take place on May 20.

“Under the tie-up, Samsung plans to allow its smartphone customers to use Alipay, the online payment platform run by a unit of Alibaba” claimed a report appearing in Reuters. Around 450 million people are estimated to use Alipay in China.

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Apple Pay was introduced in the country in February this year. The new partnership will help Samsung to take on Apple in China, a market where the South Korean giant is struggling.

Samsung Pay has a major advantage over Apple Pay in that it’s compatible with commonly found magnetic stripe card readers. On the other hand, Apple Pay requires retailers to install new NFC-based readers.


Samsung claims that Samsung Pay is widely accepted in South Korea and in the US. However, the company says it does not get any direct revenue from transactions. It is hoping that the service will be compelling enough for people to choose a Samsung phone.


Alibaba’s Alipay recently raised $4.5 billion in funding. Uber also partnered with Alipay to enable Chinese travellers to pay for their international rides in Chinese currency Yuan using their Alipay accounts, thus eliminating the need for dual currency credit cards or currency conversions.