Vodafone Hutchison Australia has signed a deal with Alibaba-founded payment company Alipay in a bid to tap into the lucrative Chinese tourism market.

Thousands of customers have already used a Vodafone discount promoted through the Jack Ma-created payment app since its introduction in stores on October 8. 

Vodafone is the first Australian telco to provide an option to pay using the Alipay option, actively used by 520 million people in China, which is considered similar to WeChat Pay, Apple Pay and PayPal.

The deal allows Vodafone to advertise its pre-paid SIM cards to Chinese visitors to Australia within the app itself, with special deals for those using Alipay already launched. Now, those using the payment method will get a 50% discount on a prepaid starter pack using a digital coupon.

Tourists will be able to use a QR code to pay in-store at 110 of Vodafone’s retail stores across the country. Vodafone has more than 500 retail stores across the country, with the ones accepting the Chinese payment option predominantly located in capital cities, major international airports and larger shopping centres.