Stripe deal with WeChat, Alipay to bring foreign e-commerce to China

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Stripe will collaborate with WeChat and Alipay to make it easier for merchants around the world to accept payments from Chinese consumers.

The deal demonstrates the flexibility of Stripe's technology and the substantial size of China's e-commerce market, which the BBC estimates is about $750 billion in yearly payments volume. The BBC reports most of that spending is inside China because of the lack of Chinese credit cards available for overseas merchants.

While WeChat and Alipay are striking deals to make it easier for Chinese travelers to make payments outside of China, the Stripe deal is focused on consumers inside China making purchases from outside retailers.

There is some risk for Stripe, reports the BBC, because the impact on Stripe's bottom line depends on the popularity of these foreign retailers inside of China. Stripe co-founder John Collison told the BBC these retailers are more likely to sell to Chinese consumers if it's easy for them to collect payments.

Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg