Alipay+ and Chinese Brands at Euro 2024
There's no better way to reach a large global audience than sports sponsorship
Post Synopsis: Sponsorship of large global events has long been used by Visa and Mastercard to grow their brands and deploy new technology. At Euro 2024, Alipay+ is the event’s payment partner. What can we learn about the power of sporting events to help payments companies build their presence? What exactly does Alipay+ offer? And how will it compete outside of Alipay’s home market in China? Read on to find out…
Football, we’re all watching it, right? Of course, not everyone likes football, but millions worldwide are currently enjoying Euro 2024. (The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship to give the tournament its full title.) As I’m writing this on Sunday, the 7th of July, it’s a rare day without football, and we football fans are eagerly awaiting the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Tuesday and Wednesday. With Euro 2024 taking a break today, sports fans have to make do with watching Tennis from Wimbledon, which isn’t too bad either.
The Draw Of Sponsoring Euro 2024
For those watching Euro 2024, it’s impossible not to notice the stadium banners at each game that show the various tournament sponsors. It’s noticeable just how many of the sponsors are Chinese companies. Excluding the national sponsors, which are all from the host nation, Germany, the global sponsors feature five Chinese companies from a total of 13. Chinese sponsors make up almost 40% of the total sponsors.
The UEFA European Football Championship usually takes place every 4 years. Over the past three tournaments, the involvement of Chinese brands has grown. Whilst the only Chinese brand that sponsored Euro 2016 was Hisense, for Euro 2020, there were four Chinese sponsors - Hisense, TikTok, Vivo and Alipay. (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Euro 2020 was delayed for one year and took place in 2021.) Now, in 2024, TikTok didn’t take part, but BYD and AliExpress have joined the cast of Chinese sponsors.
Football is the global game. The biggest name in football, Lionel Messi, may not be playing at Euro 2024, but other global footballing superstars such as Mbappé, Ronaldo, and Harry Kane can be found at the Euros. And emerging sensations such as Spain’s Lamine Yamal - aged just 16 when playing for Spain at this tournament - has been making waves game after game. (Yamal will turn 17 the day before Sunday’s final.) Brands can get their name known globally in no better way than sponsoring one of the leading global sporting events, where people from around the world will be watching.
Even markets such as the USA, where Chinese brands are struggling to gain a foothold, will get exposure to the sponsors at Euro 2024. Ed Ludlow from Bloomberg wrote in the Tech Daily newsletter recently:
Just like in Europe, US soccer [football] fans can’t avoid the revolving digital advertising boards along the pitch during live coverage of the games — even though they’re not the targeted audience.
He goes on to note that:
For BYD… the US consumer market is almost a nonstarter while the European market for electric and hybrid vehicles is a viable one. The Biden administration has boosted tariffs on China-made EVs. So all of those European football fans are a key area of focus in an area where BYD sells two models and is growing. So far in 2024, BYD has sold around 12,500 vehicles across the UK, EU and other European countries: a tiny fraction of the market at about 1.06%, but already double what it did in 2023, according to data by Rho Motion.
In fact, the Chinese Electric Vehicle manufacturer BYD may already be reaping the fruits of their sponsorship. BYD saw interest in their brand grow after the first week of Euro 2024, with a 69% increase in viewings week on week. Back in May, in an interview with Motor Press, BYD’s UK marketing director Mark Blundell explained the importance of sponsoring the event:
“I think the main challenge is [brand] awareness, which is about getting the brand out there, making sure we’re visible. Making sure we present the brand in the right manner,” says Blundell.
The brand has seized various opportunities to present itself ‘in the right manner’ but the biggest opportunity of all in terms of marketing campaigns will be the brand’s partnership with the Euros in the summer. As an official partner for UEFA Euro 2024™, BYD will have access to a far-reaching audience.
“In the summer, we are going to be one of the lead partners [for Euro] 2024. Although it is in Europe it will get billions of views.”
In many ways, sporting events can uniquely establish a brand in the eyes of consumers and in a very intensive way. Few other events can give a brand billions of views. It’ll be interesting to see if Euro 2028 will see just as many Chinese sponsors as Euro 2024. Also, will we see brands from other countries play a more prominent role in sports sponsorship? Economies that are fast developing, such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, may see their local champions grow on the international stage via sports sponsorship in the decade(s) ahead.
Alipay+ And Building Awareness
At Euro 2020, Alipay was a sponsor, but at that time, Alipay was only available in the Chinese domestic market. In some cases, Alipay could also be used by outbound Chinese travellers, but only in select stores. This in itself is telling. The level of global interest in Euro 2020 was such that it made sense to sponsor the event even though European users could not use the product. But Ant Group (蚂蚁集团) had a clear plan, and have a long-term agreement with UEFA, Europe’s footballing governing body. The deal, signed in 2018, extends to 2026. At Euro 2024, the sponsor listed is not Alipay but Alipay+, an internationally focused product.
Note: Ant Group spun out Ant International as an independent subsidiary earlier this year. The agreement with UEFA continues with the Ant International entity. Alipay+ operates under the Ant International subsidiary.
Alipay+ describes itself as a provider of “global cross-border digital payments and marketing solutions”. Yet more simply, its primary offering is a platform for various e-wallets and payment options to be integrated and used reciprocally. For instance, one of the most popular mobile payment options in South Korea is Kakao Pay. With Alipay+, Kakao Pay users from South Korea can pay at various locations in China through their Kakao Pay app, wherever the Alipay+ sign is displayed. As the video above shows, a user just needs to scan the QR code within their KakaoTalk messenger app to start the payment process.
As different countries have developed their own local payment systems, Alipay+ seems like a useful solution for delivering cross-border interoperability. Mobile banking apps and e-wallets can focus on their domestic market but connect to a broader network of integrated providers when their users travel abroad.
Alipay+ has so far focused on the APAC region. It offers integrations with a diverse range of payment options, including directly with mobile banking apps from Malaysia (MyPB by Public Bank) and Singapore (OCBC). And digital wallets from Indonesia, such as Doku and Dana. Around a year ago, Tinaba, an Italian fintech company, announced a partnership with Alipay+, allowing its users to pay from its existing Tinaba app in various Asian countries.
In March, Ant International President Douglas Feagin told the South China Morning Post that the company plans to “considerably boost the number of partner wallets supported by Alipay+ this year, possibly by more than 10.” Undoubtedly, part of the reason behind AliPay+’s sponsorship of Euro 2024 is to raise the solution’s profile in the region, and to attract more European partners into the network.
One challenge that Alipay+ may need to overcome is pricing. Payments company Planet notes that the costs for accepting Alipay+ transactions range from 1.73% to 2.50%. Whilst this pricing may be acceptable to the SME market, it is substantially more than many large companies in Europe pay to accept card payments. In some cases, direct negotiations and specific marketing arrangements may be required to scale acceptance.
Ant International is also promoting additional brands under its umbrella. Even though Alipay+ is listed as one of the main international sponsors, it’s not just about Alipay+. Viewers will also see additional Ant International brands, World First and Antom, advertised at the stadiums. World First was founded in the UK in 2004 and was acquired by Ant Group in 2019. Now operating under Ant International, World First’s core offering is making and receiving international payments - including to China.
Antom is a payment processing business that is not so well-known in Europe. But in the past week, it has made headlines with the announcement of the acquisition of Dutch payment provider MultiSafePay. It seems Antom’s business has primarily been targeting large enterprises, whereas MultiSafePay has sought customers in the SME space, so the coming together may make a lot of sense. Antom will be able to deploy its technology to a new customer segment, and SMEs will benefit from a broader range of opportunities.
Payments Soft Power
In a post back in March titled China’s Mobile Payment Apps As Soft Power, I discussed the importance of China’s two leading mobile wallet solutions - Alipay and WeChat Pay. It can be hard to get by in China without one of these payment apps. Inbound travellers are best served by downloading the international version of the Alipay app before they visit China, as credit cards may not be accepted.
Mobile wallets, whether by accident or design, are becoming a source of soft power. Soft power defined as a country's ability to influence others without coercive pressure. This means projecting values, ideals, and culture across borders to foster goodwill and strengthen partnerships.
The Alipay brand is very much associated with China. With Alipay+ and the wider Ant International portfolio, the company is seeking to connect the world not only with China, but connect the world together outside of China too. In a sponsored post on the Chinese social media app WeChat, the strategy behind the sponsorship arrangement was laid out. (Hat tip to Following the yuan.)
To globalise, companies need to have forward-thinking strategies, such as sponsoring international sports resources to lay a reasonable foundation in advance for business expansion. Ant Group's collaboration with UEFA is an example of such an exploration.
企业全球化，还需要具备前瞻性的思维，即：赞助国际体育资源需要为业务的全球化打下合理的提前量。蚂蚁与欧足联的合作，就是这方面的探索。
The host country of Euro 2024, Germany, is known as a bit of a laggard when it comes to payment technology. It’s a country where many places still do not even accept card payments. However, one benefit of a brand being on the ground at sporting events is being able to get your technology in place and get it used by the public. Alipay+ is now available in thousands of locations across Germany.
Famous venues, such as the department store KaDeWe in Berlin and the traditional boozer Hofbräuhaus in Munich, have been targeted by Alipay+ for their promotional impact. In the first week of Euro 2024, transactions reportedly rose by 67%, which is a small timeframe from which to draw any conclusions. However, I’m sure the publicity is helping raise awareness.
Of course, Alipay+ is far from the first payment company to use sports sponsorship to enhance its brand and deploy new payment technology. In particular, payment giants Visa and Mastercard have a history of sponsoring large-scale sporting events. Mastercard is a long-term sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, the world’s premier international club competition. Visa has partnered with the Olympics over many years.
Visa used the London 2012 Olympics to deploy contactless technology on a large scale, with over 2,000 contactless payment devices deployed at various venues. It’s usually the case that across the various Olympic sites, only Visa cards can be used for payment. Consumers typically don’t give too much thought to whether their card is Visa or Mastercard, so this kind of arrangement can be somewhat frustrating, but it’s par for the course with some sponsorship arrangements.
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