Alipay offers utility payments service

[img_assist|nid=10891|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=54]Eight more utility and public services including water, electricity, cable TV and mobile bills in Shanghai adopted Alibaba's online payment platform Alipay. On Monday Alipay introduced a new service that allows utility consumers not only to settle their bill s online but it is accompanied with a special promotion program.

Using the newly launched service from Alipay customers can enter lucky draws and will receive 100 virtual reward points each time they submit payment through the service. The promotion is intended to attract more Chinese consumers to pay their bills via Internet. Alipay reports that the service will be further extended nationwide. Similar services are already being offered in china by 99Bill, commercial banks and mobile payment service providers.

Let us remember that though Alipay as well as its parent-company Alibaba have one of the largest online customers base in the world due to the fact that most users are residents of China both of them are undergoing hard economy environment earlier predicted by the CEO of Alibaba Ma Yun. At the beginning of October in order to boost its sales Alibaba invested 5 billion yuan into its subsidiary Taobao.com.