A Study on Alipay1.0 IntroductionAlipay, launched by Alibaba Small and Micro Financial Services Group in December 2004, is now one of the leading third-party online payment platforms in China ( Wikipedia, 2014). Linkedin (2014) shows that Alipay offers online payment solutions to help retailers sell directly to consumers in China and provides individuals and businesses with a simple and secure way to make and receive payments via the Internet and mobile phones. According to OnbileTM (2014), Alipay, which aims to be customers' electronic wallet, offers many online payment services without charging transaction fees. For example, it provides a platform for customers to make transfers to their bank and other Alipay accounts; it allows people to pay their credit card, utility and phone bills without additional service fees and people can also top up their cell phones with credit; people can view their account balance sheet and use it to purchase any type of goods such as clothing, entertainment and transportation tickets; users can use it when paying online on many websites (on many websites it is the only way to pay); they can also use it to access shopping apps such as Tmall.com and Taobao.com, which are escrow services; and it also allows users to pay for products in-store, although this is not as popular as its online payment services. The payment platform is now mainly aimed at Chinese customers and all the above transactions are free in China. 2.0 Market and competitive advantages Unlike the development of online financial services in America and Europe, the rapid growth in the number of customers purchasing online financial service begins...... middle of paper ......P's . London marketing consultants, LLC, pp.1-3.Misha 2014. Online payment services in China: how is Alipay different from Paypal? Nanjing Marketing Group [Online]. Available at: http://www.nanjingmarketinggroup.com/blog/chinese-internet-users/online-payment-services-china-how-does-alipay-differ-paypal [Accessed April 1, 2014] OnbileTM 2014. Alipay vs Paypal for mobile payments [Online]. Available at: http://www.onbile.com/info/Alipay-vs-Paypal-for-mobile-payments/ [Accessed March 30, 2014] Watling, J. 2014. China's Internet giants are head of online finance. The financier of Credit Suisse [Online]. Available at: http://www.thefinancialist.com/not-just-a-Paypal-clone-chinas-internet-giants-chart-their-own-course/ [Accessed April 1, 2014]Wikipedia 2014. Alibaba Group [ Online]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group [Accessed: March 30 2014].