SkyBus rolls out Alipay payment platform at all ticketing counters

4 January 2017
SkyBus rolls out Alipay payment platform at all ticketing counters

Travel to and from Melbourne becomes even quicker, easier and safer for travellers.

Melbourne, Australia – SkyBus, operator of Melbourne’s express airport transport service, recently launched its Alipay payment platform partnership allowing tourists to pay for travel to and from Melbourne Airport quickly and easily.

Alipay is the world’s largest third-party payment platform, dedicated to providing simple, safe and convenient online and mobile payment solutions. The payment platform now allows users to pay for SkyBus as well as multiple other goods and services quickly and easily using their smartphones. Alipay paypoints will be available for passengers to use from ticket counters at both Southern Cross Station and Melbourne Airport.

Speaking on the new payment service Director of SkyBus, Michael Sewards said, “The Chinese tourism market here in Melbourne is growing month by month and we at SkyBus want to make it even easier for visitors when they need to get to or from the airport”.

“Alipay is secure, fast and efficient. With thousands of restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals and more on board we feel it is essential to be a part of that lifestyle to make journeys as flawless as possible for our passengers with safe, secure payment options” Michael Sewards added.

Kiki Wu of Alipay Australasia is thrilled to announce the partnership stating, “Alipay is dedicated to providing travellers the kind of convenience they are used to at home.”

According to Tourism Victoria1, Melbourne is the most popular destination in Australia for Chinese tourists who spent $2.3 billion in the year ending September 2016, and hold a 33% share of international expenditure in Victoria. This figure is more than the next six markets combined.

All customers, from China or elsewhere, can now pay for their SkyBus tickets through Alipay at SkyBus ticket booths located at Melbourne Airport and Southern Cross station.

SkyBus has been providing safe, convenient airport transport in Melbourne for more than 35 years. Its iconic red vehicles run seven days a week, transferring over three and a half million passengers each year between the CBD and Tullamarine Airport on the most affordable airport transport service in Australia, when measured by cost/kilometres travelled. SkyBus pairs affordability with superior service, offering customers free WiFi, luggage racks, reliable running times, and online, mobile and kiosk ticketing options. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @skybusmelbourne
Launched in 2004, Alipay currently has over 450 million active users. Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, make appointments with doctors, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app. In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Over 2,000,000 brick-and-mortar merchants now accept Alipay across China. As of November 2016, Alipay is supported in 70 overseas markets, with in-store payments covering more than 100,000 retail stores, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 24 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 40 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay supports the settlement of 18 currencies.

1 http://www.tourism.vic.gov.au/research/international-research/international-visitation.html