China’s top wallet app now has 4m US shoppers

China’s wallet app Alipay isn’t just big in its home nation – it also has 4 million users in the US.

Used by a mix of China’s increasingly adventurous tourists and the Chinese diaspora, the app can be used for in-store payments at 7,000 locations across the US, the company this week said.

Alipay’s latest push involves cooperating with pharmacy store chain Walgreens, which is rolling out support for cashless payments via Alipay in some of its 9,560 stores across the country.

Here’s a Walgreens cashier scanning Alipay:

GIF by Tech in Asia, with Ant Financial footage

It’s the same strategy Alipay has been using around the world, mainly focusing on department stores, chains, and duty-free outlets popular with China’s 140 million outbound tourists – such as this Chinese tourist using Alipay at Japan’s Kansai International Airport:

Photo credit: Ant Financial

Alipay parent Ant Financial says overseas payments are available in 40 countries and regions across the world.

WeChat, China’s hugely popular messaging app, is doing the same kind of thing with its wallet service.

Separately from that cagey expansion path, Ant Financial has been quietly building a global empire by investing in a series of overseas online payments services, particularly in fast-growing markets across South and Southeast Asia.