Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila’s Entertainment City has added new payment technologies that are expected to boost visitation and play by Chinese gamblers. According to Inside Asian Gaming, Solaire has signed a deal with Asia United Bank that will enable it to accept WeChat and Alipay payments via the AUB paymate app.
WeChat and Alipay are now used by 1.7 billion people around the world and are especially popular in China.
“The strategic partnership with AUB is consistent with our mission to deliver better service by offering our Chinese guests a safe and efficient online, cross-border platform for their payments,” said Solaire Senior Vice President of Operations Rajesh Jhingon. “We firmly believe that our state-of-the-art facilities will be best complemented with reliable cashless transactions for our Chinese guests during their stay in Solaire.”
AUB launched in the Philippines in November. Since then, it’s added nearly 5,000 merchants to its user base. “We are excited to partner with Solaire Resort as they are poised to benefit from the astounding growth in Chinese tourist arrivals, well above the curve of tourism growth in the region as well as around the world. This comes with untapped opportunities for businesses, big or small, to cater to this specific market with a safe, new payment channel that provides both speed and convenience,” said AUB President Manuel Gomez.
GGRAsia cited official data that indicate that 1.5 million Chinese travelers could visit the Philippines this year.
