$60 Bln Alipay to Adopt Blockchain Looking to Serve 2 Billion Users

Alipay, the $60 bln financial application developed by Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial, is planning to implement Blockchain technology for the long-term benefit of its consumers.

With over 450 mln users in China alone, Alipay is easily the most popular and largest mobile payment application in the world. The market cap of Alipay is larger than that of PayPal, a global financial network which processes blns of transactions every year.

Blockchain going global with Alipay

In the past few years, Alipay has become the substitute for inefficient banking systems and financial services. As reported by Cointelegraph, the majority of average Chinese consumers utilize Alipay to receive their salaries, settle transactions at local stores and make payments online.

Eric Jing, the CEO of Ant Financial, believes it is now time for the company and its mobile application Alipay to expand globally. In an interview with CNBC, Jing shared a more ambitious vision for the company, which is to serve two bln people within the next ten years.

Jing stated:

“We have an ambition to be a global company. So my vision (is) that we want to serve 2 billion people in the next 10 years by using technology, by working together with partners … to serve those underserved.”

Alipay plans to “underpin” its network with Blockchain

Jing referred to Blockchain technology as an important element for the global success of Alipay. For the mobile payment application to serve a wider range of consumers, it first has to reduce the costs and speed required to settle a transaction.

Jing believes that Blockchain technology can be used as a base protocol to process transactions in a cheaper, more robust and efficient ecosystem.

However, in contrast to many financial institutions and banks looking into the potential of Blockchain, Jing emphasized the level of security an immutable and public Blockchain network could bring to a platform. While he understands the high measures of flexibility and functionality it can provide, he believes Blockchain’s greatest asset is security and decentralization.

When the development team behind Alipay discovers a method of integrating Blockchain with appropriate security measures, Jing expects to see Blockchain become “deeply” implemented into Alipay and other operations handled by Ant Financial. To CNBC, Jing also stated that he “definitely” sees Blockchain underpinning its popular mobile application.