Launched in 2004, Alipay is a third-party online payment platform provided by Alibaba group in China. According to a third-party research report, Alipay has the biggest online payment market share in China. The company had more than 550 million registered users by the end of 2010. In 2011. It was the largest online payment system in the world in terms of transaction volume. In China, Alipay partners with more than many financial institutions including Visa and MasterCard to provide payment solutions for Taobao as well as more than 500,000 Chinese businesses. Internationally, Alipay helps more than 300 merchants and sellers worldwide sell directly to consumers in China. It currently supports transactions in 12 major foreign currencies.