Gebr. Heinemann and Australian bank Tyro have introduced the Alipay digital payment platform at Sydney International Airport.

Tyro is the first Australian bank to offer Alipay to its merchants following an agreement signed in August 2018. The launch in Sydney follows the implementation at Gold Coast Airport also with Heinemann.

Robbie Cooke, Tyro CEO said Alipay was a compelling payment solution option for Australian merchants looking to expand their customer base by accessing the lucrative Chinese visitor market.

FAMILIAR PAYMENT METHOD

He added: “Heinemann Australia is a key player in travel retail and a popular shopping destination for Chinese visitors travelling through Sydney Airport. For our Chinese guests, Alipay is a familiar and preferred payment method, especially while travelling.

“Tyro is proud to have partnered with Heinemann to bring Alipay to the Australian market. Tyro has a long-standing and successful working relationship with Heinemann with a common goal of bringing new payment technology to market and putting the customer first.”

Richard Goodman, Managing Director of Heinemann Australia commented: “We are excited to partner with Tyro yet again in launching Alipay in our Sydney stores, better reaching our Chinese customers. We look forward to introducing exclusive offers over the Chinese New Year period to Alipay users in partnership with Sydney Airport”.

George Lawson, ANZ Country Manager at Alipay said Australian retailers like Heinemann were recognising the huge opportunity presented by the Chinese visitor boom, particularly in airports which are the gateways to Australia. “In fact, Australian airports were the third-most popular airport shopping destinations globally during the recent Chinese Golden Week holiday. By offering Chinese tourists their preferred payment method —Alipay, Heinemann is well placed to harness this key market.”

More than 1.4m Chinese visitors arrived in Australia during the year ended October 2018 (Source: Tourism Australia). Chinese visitors also injected AU$10.4bn into the company in the year ending December 2017 (Source: Minister for Trade Tourism and Investment). This is predicted to rise to AU$13bn by 2020 (Source: Tourism Australia).

According to Tourism Research Australia’s Dispersal of Chinese Free and Independent Leisure Visitors in Australia 2015 report, Sydney is the most prominent arrival gateway with 45% of Chinese free and independent travellers landing in the capital city.

TAILORED EXPERIENCE

Glyn Williams, General Manager Retail at Sydney Airport said: “We’re proud to offer a highly tailored experience for Chinese passengers at Sydney Airport including retail, food and dining options, targeted content through WeChat and Chinese way-finding via e-directories and Baidu maps.

“Bolstering Chinese payment options at Sydney Airport is another important step in delivering a superior customer experience for Chinese travellers.”

Data from Nielsen, a global leader in retail measurement services indicates 65% of Chinese tourists use mobile payment platforms during overseas travels, six times more than non-Chinese tourists (11%).

The data also indicates that over 90% of Chinese tourists would consider using Alipay when travelling abroad if Alipay were more widely accepted among foreign merchants. Over 90% of Chinese tourists also indicated they would increase their spending if Alipay were an accepted payment method.