Business-only challenger bank Tyro announced this week that it has teamed up with Alipay. The partnership makes Tyro the first Australian bank to integrate with the China-based mobile and online payment platform, making it easier for Tyro’s merchants to reach Chinese consumers visiting and transacting in Australia and New Zealand.

“This is an exciting initiative for businesses in Australia, especially for those in the retail and hospitality sectors,” Tyro CEO Robbie Cooke said. “It sees Tyro continue to challenge the status quo, being the first Australian bank to give its merchants the opportunity to seamlessly integrate with Alipay, enabling them to better serve Chinese tourists and giving customers more choice in how they want to pay.”

A division of Alibaba Group’s Ant Financial, Alipay has more than 870 million active users in China and overseas, and is recognized as the top payment method in China. In Australia and New Zealand, Alipay is already partnered with more than 10,000 businesses. This integration will provide Tyro merchants with an all-in-one, EFTPOS with integrated Alipay acceptance. Initial pilots are scheduled for the end of this year with selected merchants. Tyro expects to extend the service to the rest of its more than 20,000 business customers starting in the second quarter of 2019.

Calling banks “pivotal to Alipay’s expansion in Australia,” ANZ Country Manager for Alipay George Lawson said, “Australian businesses have been calling out for their banks to partner with Alipay to improve their exposure to the rapidly expanding Chinese visitor market so it’s pleasing to see Tyro take the lead on this and give their merchants access to new customers and incremental revenues.”

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Tyro demonstrated its Tyro Growth Funding lending solution at FinovateSpring 2017. Earlier this year, Tyro previewed its new API platform that helps integrate multiple apps and POS systems into a single solution. In March, the challenger bank launched its Tap & Save solution, which enables merchants to process debit tap-and-go payments via Tyro’s EFTPOS network.

Tyro has raised more than $103 million in funding. The company’s investors include TDM Asset Management and Tiger Global Management.