Alibaba Launches Credit Card in U.S. as It Expands Overseas

By Tracy Qu

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is launching a credit card in the U.S. as part of its strategy to expand overseas amid slowing sales at home.

Alibaba.com, the tech giant's business-to-business e-commerce unit, has partnered with Mastercard and fintech company Cardless to offer a co-branded credit card, the companies said in a joint announcement.

The card will let cardholders in the U.S. earn rewards on all of their purchases on Alibaba.com in the form of cashback or special financing terms, according to the statement.

"The [credit card] is the latest way we are adding value for businesses leveraging our platform, especially small and medium-sized enterprises," said Rah Mahtani, head of marketing, North America at Alibaba.com.

Alibaba's international commerce business has been its fastest-growing unit for six consecutive quarters, a revenue lifeline for the company as it faces fierce competition and slower growth in earnings at home. Revenue from the unit grew 32% year-over-year to 29.29 billion yuan (US$4.12 billion) for the three months ended June.

Earlier this year, Alibaba also introduced an artificial-intelligence-powered search tool for international e-commerce merchants.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 05, 2024 14:14 ET (18:14 GMT)

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