Tinaba with Banca Profilo announces the launch of digital payments in the Chinese mainland through the extension of its strategic partnership with Alipay+, Ant International’s global wallet gateway solution, bringing a simple, cashless and local payment experience to Italian travellers in the world’s largest digital market.
Starting recently, users can pay in the Chinese mainland at over 80 million merchants simply by scanning a QR code directly from the Tinaba App. This innovation is particularly significant in a country where digital payments are the everyday standard, and cash is increasingly less used.
The service is available directly within the Tinaba App through the “Pay Worldwide with Alipay+” feature, which enables payments in euros with transparent exchange rates, without the need to install local apps or open a local bank account. Everything takes place seamlessly within the App, in Italian, offering travellers a smooth and barrier-free experience.
Entering the Chinese mainland market represents a strategic step for Tinaba with Banca Profilo, strengthening its international positioning and expanding services dedicated to travellers in one of the most advanced countries in terms of digital payments. In the Chinese mainland, Alipay+ is a widely used digital payment solution, accepted across millions of shops, restaurants, hotels, transportation, and tourist attractions.
As highlighted by Matteo Arpe, President of Tinaba with Banca Profilo:“The extension of the partnership with Alipay+ and Tinaba with Banca Profilo’s entry into the Chinese mainland represent a strategically significant milestone. The Chinese mainland is today the world’s most advanced laboratory for digital payments, and being able to offer our customers simple, secure and fully integrated access to this ecosystem means strengthening Tinaba’s international positioning as an open, innovative financial platform truly focused on global mobility. This is a concrete step towards an increasingly digital, international bank capable of supporting its customers wherever they are in the world.”
Pietro Candela, General Manager of EMEA at Alipay+, said: “We share a clear vision with Tinaba, letting people pay through the banking app they already trust makes daily life simpler, safer and more convenient. By enabling Tinaba users to pay in the Chinese mainland via Alipay+, directly from their Italian app, we’re extending a familiar wallet experience into one of the world’s most advanced cashless markets. Italian travellers can shop and dine like a local at more than 80 million merchants, with a transparent and efficient FX rate, and will soon have access to added benefits that provide a seamless end-to-end digital journey.”
Candela added: “Travel between Italy and the Chinese mainland is growing fast, helped by visa-free entry for Italian visitors. This expanded collaboration is a powerful example of how European financial institutions can drive the digitisation and globalisation of payments while keeping the user experience simple and secure.”
The launch in the Chinese mainland comes amid strong growth in the use of digital wallets for international payments: in 2025, Tinaba with Banca Profilo recorded a +133% increase in transaction volume through Alipay+, confirming growing European user preference for digital wallets when travelling abroad.
In the coming months, the Tinaba App will also integrate Alipay+ Voyager, the built-in AI travel companion,designed to support users throughout every stage of their journey, from planning to in-destination experiences. Directly within the Tinaba App, travellers will be able to organise itineraries, receive personalised suggestions and access useful services such as transportation, hotel and attraction bookings, as well as practical, contextual destination information.
This new phase of collaboration between Tinaba, Banca Profilo and Alipay+ confirms their shared commitment to developing innovative digital solutions that address the needs of international travellers and enable increasingly integrated payment and travel experiences — a key building block in a growth journey driven by innovation and digital inclusion.
The long-standing strategic partnership between Tinaba, Banca Profilo and Alipay+ began in 2018 with the aim of creating a digital payment ecosystem capable of breaking down language and currency barriers. Thanks to this collaboration, in 2023 Tinaba became the first Italian fintech to enable instant online and offline payments in euros and in Italian directly from the App, across Alipay+’s partner merchants. Today Alipay+ connects 1.8 billion user accounts from over 40 mobile payment partners with more than 150 million merchants in over 100 markets.
