Israel Credit Card (ICC, CAL) and OneBill will be working with Chinese payment company Alipay to process payments for Chinese visitors to Israel. Israel becomes the first country in the Middle East in which Alipay can be used for in-store payments.

National Airline El-Al and James Richardson chain stores are also expected to accept Alipay, with Diamond Mines jewelry chain stores launching Alipay powered payments last week.

According to information received from the Ministry of Tourism and the Israel-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the volume of Chinese arrivals to Israel increased 45% year-on-year in 2017. Last year, over 123,000 Chinese tourists visited Israel. The typical Chinese tourist visits Israel for an average period of 9 days, during which each tourist spends approximately $300 daily.

[Image courtesy: Alipay]