TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of British Columbia Bookstore and payment gateway provider SnapPay, Inc., today announced the successful launch of their Alipay and WeChat payment acceptance program, allowing Chinese international students to use the popular Chinese payment apps at its main campus bookstore location in Vancouver.
UBC accepts more than 4,000 Chinese international students annually. By accepting popular Chinese mobile payment apps, the campus bookstore enables students to pay in Chinese currency (RMB), while making it convenient for them to buy books, supplies and other items in the format and currency they’re familiar with. In addition, students save money by receiving preferred foreign exchange rates. By paying with digital payment apps, students can bypass the 50K USD exemption limit that Chinese citizens are subject to.
SnapPay is a payment gateway that allows North American merchants to accept digital payments from the two largest Chinese payment platforms, that have a combined 2.1 billion active users. SnapPay enables a lower cost payment option for merchants compared to traditional credit card transactions, and enhances the customer experience by offering Chinese consumers the option to pay with the mobile apps and currency they’re comfortable with.
“UBC Bookstore understands the challenges oversea Chinese students are faced with when it comes to securing funds to pay for the costs associated with studying abroad,” said Chris Renton, Chief Growth Officer. “By helping the Bookstore with acceptance of Chinese payment platforms, we help students cover their costs easier and give them better FX rates, while reducing merchant fees. It’s a win-win for all parties.”
Special Promotion
As a special promotional offer, Alipay is hosting a kick-off campaign, rewarding Chinese students with a UBC-emblazoned water bottle when using their platform to purchase at least $40 of books or supplies at the UBC Bookstore Vancouver campus location. Promotion runs from July 20 through August 10, 2019.
About UBC
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a global centre for teaching, learning and research, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world and recently recognized as North America’s most international university.
About SnapPay
Founded outside Toronto, Canada in 2017, SnapPay provides a payment gateway that allows North American merchants to accept digital payments from Chinese Alipay and WeChat Pay users. SnapPay provides comprehensive direct to consumer marketing channels for its clients, and is committed to establishing a reliable platform to connect Canadian and American merchants with the large buying power of consumers. SnapPay enables merchants and brands, of all sizes, tap into the Chinese consumer market in the sectors of Tourism, Education, Food & Restaurants and Retail throughout North America.