- Over 10 local e-wallets from more than nine markets in Asia and Europe are now accepted via Alipay+.
- Chinese travellers will benefit from real-time tax refund at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah airports.
Alipay+, the cross-border digital payment and marketing solutions provider, is now accepted on taxis operating in the United Arab Emirates.
The Alibaba company has formed partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority and has collaborated with local partners in the UAE including Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Network International in Dubai and Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), Payby and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) in Abu Dhabi.
The supported e-wallets include Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR China), MPay (Macao SAR China), Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay (South Korea), OCBC (Singapore), Touch&Go (Malaysia), GCash (The Philippines), TrueMoney (Thailand) and Tinaba (Italy) and more.
In Abu Dhabi, travellers can scan the QR code on the POS terminal with around 6,000 Abu Dhabi taxis while in Dubai, they can scan the QR code on the taxi metre with around 11,000 Dubai taxis and covers almost the majority of UAE attractions, connecting Dubai and Abu Dhabi conveniently for travellers in UAE.
Providing seamless experience
The partnerships enable international visitors to travel by taxi across the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, Chinese visitors to the UAE can now receive their tax refunds instantly at airports with a partnership with Planet Tax Free, the global tax refund agency.
Guoming Cheng, General Manager of Ant Group, an affiliate of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, in Europe and Middle East, said the technology facilitates convenient mobile payment options so that visitors and residents alike can enjoy a seamless experience when travelling around the capital of UAE and Dubai.
“We are looking forward to upgrading the checkout experience across the region and to support the growth of smart travel and the growth of local businesses in UAE.”