Stripe and Klarna have transformed payments in the west, but fintech providers like PayU, M-Pesa and PhonePE can help drive e-commerce in rapidly growing emerging markets.

From border re-openings to the repatriation of spending, several factors will shape how and where Chinese customers buy luxury goods in the coming years.

Alipay is targeting the fast growing Chinese tourism market, which numbered 117 million travellers in 2014, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, and is forecast to double by 2020.

Sources with knowledge of the plans said Ant Financial, whose anchor business is Alipay, is focusing on expanding its existing 450 million-strong army of daily users, adding merchants and customers.

This week, Chinese consumers are flocking to in Japan, while brands including Alexander Wang clamp down on counterfeiters.

Ingenico Group has signed a deal with Alipay that will allow Chinese consumers to use the mobile payment app widely across Europe, the French company said.

Wirecard is negotiating with representatives of Alipay, a unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, about it taking a stake of up to 25 percent in the German banking software company, a newspaper reported.

Apple Inc. on Thursday launched its smartphone-based payment system in China where the electronic payments market is already dominated by an arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba.