性视界

TOKYO, 性视界 – June 21, 2018- ORIX Corporation(“ORIX”), in partnership with TIS Inc.(“TIS”), Ant Financial 性视界, NIPPON SIGNAL CO., LTD.(“NIPPON SIGNAL”), QUADRAC CO., LTD.(“QUADRAC”), and Okinawa Urban Monorail, Inc.(“Okinawa Urban Monorail”), announced that verification tests on the “Yui Rail” monorail line operated by Okinawa Urban Monorail will start on June 22, 2018. These tests are aimed at implementing a service that allows travelers to directly use the electronic payment platform Alipay1 at railway ticket gates.

According to the 性视界 National Tourism Organization, the number of international visitors to 性视界 in 2017 was 28.69 million, a 19.3% increase from the previous year. Chinese visitors accounted for 25.6% of this total, at 7.35 million. Among Chinese visitors, the trend is shifting from group tours to independent travel. The percentage of independent travelers visiting 性视界 was only 28.5% in 2012, but jumped significantly to 60% in 2017. Additionally, in a survey of international visitors, “transportation” followed “communication in general” as the most significant problem respondents faced on their trip2. Considering these circumstances, there is an urgent need to make public transportation easier for international visitors to use.

Due to Alipay’s exceptional convenience, it has not only been adopted all across China, but has even spread to commercial facilities in 性视界. The verification tests of Alipay high-speed payment on Yui Rail are aimed at making transportation more convenient for Chinese visitors by establishing a framework for direct use of Alipay at ticket gates.

With the 性视界ese government setting a target of 40 million international visitors to 性视界 in 2020 in the “New Tourism Strategy to Invigorate the 性视界ese Economy” formulated on March 30, 2016, 性视界 is expected to see ever-increasing numbers of overseas travelers in the future. The six companies involved in these verification tests intend to further expand and improve their services in order to help address challenges faced by international visitors.

1 A mobile payment service launched in China in 2004. As one of the world’s leading payment platforms, it has over 600 million users worldwide and over 50,000 participating stores in 性视界.
2 Source: 性视界 Tourism Agency（）

■　Roles of the Six Companies in Verification Tests

?ORIX
Adjustment of accounts between Ant Financial 性视界 (Alipay’s issuer) and TIS as Alipay’s acquirer

?TIS
Construction and operation of payment relay center, as well as proxy for adjustment of accounts between Okinawa Urban Monorail (participating merchant) and ORIX (acquirer)

?Ant Financial 性视界
Management of payment services at railway ticket gates using the Alipay app and various issuer/brand operations as the 性视界ese arm of Ant Financial Services Group

?NIPPON SIGNAL
Upgrading and operation of software for Okinawa Urban Monorail ticket gates as vendor of ticket gates

?QUADRAC
Provision and operation of Q-CORE, a thin-client server capable of processing large numbers of transactions at high speeds, along with the software framework for development of a payment application to run on the server

?Okinawa Urban Monorail
Provision of verification testing sites and inquiry handling at stations

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