Two big news about Alipay

Ma Yun and his Alipay have always been great news materials. Sometimes when you suffer from the topic of the day, you can often get inspiration from there. To be precise, there are two news about Alipay that are interesting and far-reaching.

The first is that Marriott International Group, which owns JW Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton and other top hotel brands, announced on the same day that Marriott branded hotels and resorts will be connected to Alipay mobile payment system, and guests will be able to conveniently use Alipay accounts. Paying bills, Marriott members book and use Alipay to pay through the official channel and receive an additional discount of 8%.

It is reported that Marriott will first access Alipay in 10 hotels in Greater China, and in the middle of 2016, it will expand to all hotels in China and Asia. By the end of 2016, major markets outside Asia will also be gradually connected to Alipay. .

For Alipay, this signing is of great significance to the internationalization of Alipay, which is the first international high-end brand signed by Alipay. Although in the past its international map has been extended to South Korea, Germany, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the total size of contracted international merchants has exceeded 30,000, but this kind of cooperation on the tallest is still the first time. The number of outbound tourists and spending power in China are in a situation of rapid growth. If they cannot be bundled with these “gold owners” wallets, it is undoubtedly unsatisfactory for Alipay.

Another news related to people's livelihood. Also on September 7, the Beijing Municipal Communications Commission’s ten city services were formally launched on the Sina Weibo and Alipay dual platforms. This is also the first government agency of the national transportation system to synchronize online Alipay and Weibo dual platform service functions. At the same time, it also includes a number of city services such as the Capital Airport and ETCP intelligent parking.

This is an amazing progress. I didn't expect it to come so fast. In April of this year, Sina Weibo teamed up with Alibaba to jointly launch the “Internet + City Service” strategy and jointly provided a one-stop solution for “smart cities” for local governments. At that time, I thought that there were many connections. Even if some cities are willing to participate, they may be small and medium-sized cities in the second or even third or fourth line. Who would have thought that Beijing has such awesome power, I am afraid it should be considered as “Internet+”. One of the results of strategy implementation and progress.

Today's urban services are no longer controlled by the relevant agencies of the city. With the development of various payment means and the spread of social media, more and more people are more willing to enjoy more municipal convenience services through new channels and pay for them. I remember that there were people who had brain holes and said that it would be better if the tax payment was also carried out by Alipay and it was decided to give a corresponding evaluation.

Ideas like this may seem absurd, but many stories that we think of in the past have gradually become a reality. Can anyone say that there is no greater surprise waiting for us in the future?