| Hello Jian Shou Here is a topic and a question. What do you know of the background to Alipay removing the ability to use VISA to make payments (to Taobao traders and others) to China?. It was announced with much fanfare in April 2005 and I have been happily using it to trade with Taobao small traders since then. But on August 17th is was stopped , I have just found out. Interestingly, the Taobao trading was not just a trade thing. Some of the traders have become personal friends and we have even met in China on visits, expanding my horizons and theirs. All because of the ability to pay them with VISA! All now gone. Since you are part of this business world, you might know something about the rationale and if the stop is likely to be only temporary. It seems inconceivable that China can be part of the modern world and advancing, if this kind of thing is not reintroduced. It is surely preventing capital flowing INTO China ! The Alipay VISA facility was level 3D protected so was more secure than most VISA cards as only some banks had that level of security available on their cards. I had to hunt around until I found one that did.(The "Verified by VISA" system) Interestingly, Alipay still has the logo on the bottom of the home page :-) Is the Alipay VISA restriction also part of some bigger restriction on the use of credit cards in China? As always, appreciate your blog and insights. |
Where are You - Part II