Alipay prohibited from gambling-related transactions

The restriction includes transactions in China and Macau, where the system was broadly used.

China.- The Barcode Payment Service from Alipay, China’s largest third-party payment services, is bounded from any gambling-related transactions, such as purchasing gaming chips, both in Mainland China and Macau. The restriction also includes transactions related to weapons, pornography, credits, drugs or prescription medicine.

The Alibaba Group-owned AliPay and Macau Pass agreed early this year to expand the payment services in the city. By July, Alipay’s QR code payment was introduced in over than 100 local shops and restaurants with more than 51 local brands. Users can spend 50,000 yuan (US$7,729) per day.

Although no casino is among business operators accepting payments made through the service, the new policy could help build a regulated environment for the gambling industry in Macau.