China’s leading mobile payment platform Alipay is making its way to Canada this week. With 520,000,000 active users, Alipay’s decision to expand to North America will help them drastically progress as the world’s leading financial services cooperation for the years to come.

By striking multiple oversea partnerships, other payment platforms such as WeChat Pay and Union Pay will soon be no threat to Alipay. According to a statistics report, Alipay has 100 million active users on average per day. As they expand their services, this number will continue to grow.

Alipay’s entrance into the Canadian market will benefit the company itself and local businesses. By establishing partnerships with Alipay, Alipay will gain more users and global recognition and simultaneously, Canada’s economy will also thrive. Canadian merchants that accept Alipay will attract more Chinese consumers to their stores, broadening their scope of consumers. The president of Alipay’s North American movement emphasized that one of the core goals of this expansion is “to offer Canadian merchants the opportunity to access the Chinese market” (China’s Alibaba bringing online payment platform Alipay to Canada, 2017). Therefore, the more local businesses willing to partner with Alipay, the more profitable it will be for everyone, including the Canadian economy.

Not only will it widen the scope of consumers, payment will also be a much more convenient process for sellers and buyers. A restaurant owner in China told the reporter, “I don’t have to worry about getting counterfeit money, or having to make change… when I go out, I don’t have to worry about losing my money or getting robbed” (In China, A Cashless Trend Is Taking Hold With Mobile Payments, 2017). This digital wallet saves time, and creates a safety net that not only stores value, but also protects it.

Once North America catches onto this “cashless trend” in China, the daily life of Canadians will be transformed. When every local salon, grocery store, transportation provide Alipay, the full effect of the mobile platform will direct Canadians into a new way of life. With Alipay, users can purchase an item or transfer money to a friend with an instant scan. It “enables you to make donations, or even receive tax refunds… in a sense, mobile payments are changing urban life” (Mobile Payments Change Lives, n.d.) – it is changing the way we interact with our environment. For this very reason, Alipay will succeed in Canada.

In China, Alipay along with other social media platforms has completely changed the era. People no longer need to leave their homes – they are in full control and can get almost anything with the touch of their finger. If Canadian businesses are bold enough to welcome this change, Alipay will successfully integrate into the North American society. Then, the daily choices, life pace, and societal norms will be turned upside down.

Are you ready for the change?

Word count: 446