According to Bank of China, the partnership helps both companies maintain their solid footing in China’s still-emerging e-commerce industry.
“The rapid development of e-commerce over the last decade has led to a drastic change in the economic landscape, especially in China. Customers nowadays are becoming more demanding on the scope and quality of customer services, product innovation, operational efficiencies and operating philosophy,” the bank said in a statement. “Leveraging Alibaba’s leading edge in e-commerce and its hundreds of millions of customers in China, we are confident that our deepened co-operation will bring both of us all positive influence.”
The deal extends the companies’ partnership, first agreed in 2007, when the companies teamed to launch an overseas payment service for Alipay users. Earlier this year, Bank of China launched an online banking service that allowed customers make purchases through Alipay.