Alipay Launches Invitation-only Social Groups
Sina Tech, 11/08/16
Chinese third-party payment processor Alipay has rolled out a number of invitation-only social groups based on tagged social identities or affinities, such as "Overseas Educated Chinese Returnee Elites," "US TV Shows," and "Eligible Singles," according to various Alipay users who have received invitations to join the groups.
Alipay is operated by Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group's (NYSE: BABA) financial services affiliate Ant Financial.
The "Eligible Singles" group requires invitees to measure their attractiveness through Alipay's embedded facial recognition software, according to reports from one user. Without a high attractiveness rating and high credit rating from Ant Financial's Sesame Credit, users cannot join the group, which will periodically organize online and offline matchmaking events for high-income, high-quality singles.
Editor's Note: In a telephone interview with Marbridge, Miranda Shek, Head of International Communications at Ant Financial, confirmed that Alipay had launched a new interest groups function today, with invitations sent to select users in 5 cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. Shek explained that the new feature, which builds on existing social functionality in Alipay (Alipay users can already add friends to their contact lists and create their own chat groups), has been beta launched as part of a series of promotions by Ant Financial leading up to China's November 11 Singles Day shopping holiday. She added that "Overseas Educated Chinese Returnee Elites," "US TV Shows," and "Eligible Singles," were just some of the groups designed for the beta launch, and said that whether Ant Financial continued to offer the interest groups feature after Singles Day might depend on the degree of user uptake. Shek said all users who were sent an invitation to join the "Eligible Singles" interest group would be able to join, and that it was similar to an online dating app that features participating users' photos, age, height, and other voluntarily provided personal information.
Keywords: mobile SNS credit rating Internet Alipay third-party payment Alibaba Group financial services BABA Sesame Credit facial recognition online matchmaking Ant Financial Group mobile IM
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