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Mobile payments skyrocket during Chinese ‘Golden Week’

Mobile payment use among Chinese consumers rose significantly last week during China’s Golden Week holiday, according to Alipay, the payments arm of Chinese e-commerce service Alibaba.

Destinations such as the Bicester Village outlet shopping center in the U.K., the Dotonbori zone in Osaka, and the Sydney Airport in Australia saw  90-, 70- and 55-fold increases in Alipay payments, according to a report by Techwire Asia. Other locations such as Paris, Bangkok and Toronto also saw significant increases in mobile payments from Chinese travelers.

Prior to the holiday, Alipay released a report titled, “40 outbound destinations without wallets,” highlighting locales that accept mobile payments.

Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with mobile payments. A Nielsen report found that 90 percent of Chinese consumers’ first preference for payments is their mobile phone.