Thailand ranked the 2nd most overseas Alipay spending

China is just back from a two-month summer holiday, when millions of Chinese travelled abroad for a long-awaited vacation. With Alipay’s growing presence outside of the Chinese mainland, overseas Alipay spending skyrocketed this summer (July 1 and August 31) compared to last year’s figures.

Alipay processed 2.6 times as many in-store overseas transactions this summer, compared to the number of overseas transactions last summer.

Asia continued to dominate the list of top 10 countries and regions in terms of summertime overseas Alipay transactions. Hong Kong topped the list, followed by Thailand and South Korea.

The number of Alipay transactions in Russia increased by over 5000%, as Chinese travelers flocked to the host country for this year’s World Cup.

Countries in Northern and Western Europe, including Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, recorded double-digit growth in terms of Alipay transaction volume.

Average total spending per user increased 43% to RMB 2,955 (approx. USD 432) from last year’s RMB 2,073 (approx. USD 303). Average total spending per user was highest in France (RMB 11,386 or approx. USD 1,666), followed by South Korea and Denmark. European countries accounted for more than half of the Top 10 countries in terms of average total spending per user.

Those born in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s accounted for 85% of all those who used Alipay overseas during the summer months of 2018.

Of the 80+ airports that support instant tax refunds via Alipay, airports in South Korea recorded the highest amount of tax refunded, followed by airports in Europe.