(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Adapting to its growing worldwide customer base, US-based web host and domain registrar Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com) offering Alipay (www.alipay.com), China’s leading payment platform, making it easier for Chinese customers to build and maintain an online presence.
With more than 270 million registered users, Alipay facilitates approximately five million online payments daily, topping more than $180 million in total transaction volume. PayPal, by comparison, has more than 153 million user accounts worldwide. What sets Alipay apart from other online payment platforms is that it holds funds in escrow until the product is received, making it a popular and trusted option.
“We already have thousands of customers in China,” Go Daddy chief executive officer and founder Bob Parsons said in a statement. “Offering Alipay just makes doing business online with us that much easier — and that’s important to us.”
China has experienced explosive growth of Internet users and their adoption of new technologies, with the number of Chinese Internet users ballooning to more than the entire population of the US according to state figures.
“Alipay is delighted to provide secure third-party online payment support to Go Daddy users,” Alipay president Polo Shao said in a statement. “Ensuring safe and convenient payment for our customers is Alipay’s number one priority.”
In a further effort to appeal to Chinese customers, Go Daddy is also now able to offer Chinese-character .ORG domain name registration.
A global provider of web hosting and SSL certificates, Go Daddy further expanded its international presence last year when it announced a new data center in the Netherlands to improve the performance of sites for European users by moving content closer to end users.
Out of its more than 7.5 million Go Daddy customers, 20 percent are located outside the US.
In addition to Alipay, Go Daddy also accepts credit cards, PayPal, personal checks and cash under the “GoodAsGold” option for its products and services.
