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As tourists from China visit the United States—they are now the fifth largest group of travelers to this country—they want to use familiar payment methods. Now, Alipay, the digital wallet from China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., will be accepted in New York City and Las Vegas taxis using VeriFone Systems Inc. point-of-sale terminals, VeriFone announced Tuesday.
By the end of October, 2,100 Las Vegas taxis will accept Alipay. In New York City, 14,000 taxis are expected to accept the mobile wallet beginning in November.
“Paying for taxis can be one of the most stressful elements of traveling abroad, particularly if you don’t speak the language,” said Souheil Badran, Alipay North America president, said in a press release. “By extending our partnership with VeriFone to taxis in New York and Las Vegas, two of the most popular destinations in America for Chinese tourists, we are giving greater confidence to Chinese travelers that they will be able to pay for their taxi ride using the same convenient payment method they use at home, without language barriers.”
This follows similar Alipay deals. In August, a deal to accept Alipay at some Marriott International Inc. properties was announced.
Meanwhile, San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone said in September it was closer to selling its payments service for taxis. Since then, there has been no word from VeriFone about the status of this divestiture or the effect of the Alipay announcement on the potential sale.
