Chinese online travel service provider Ctrip.com has formed a partnership with Alibaba's online payment subsidiary Alipay.

The agreement, which makes Alipay the first third-party online payment service provider for Ctrip.com, allows users to pay Ctrip.com through Alipay in addition to using their Alipay account to log on Ctrip.com.

Prior to this agreement Ctrip.com mainly provided cash on delivery and telephone credit card payment services for its air ticket customers.

Alipay claims that by October 20, 2008, it had had more than 110 million users in China with a daily transaction volume of 550 million yuan.

(China Hospitality News January 20, 2009)