Chope enters strategic partnership with Alipay to digitalise Asia's F&B businesses

Leveraging Alipay's technology and know-how to accelerate Chope's rapid growth and evolution into multi-service dining app

Strategic partnership to help F&B businesses across Asia recover from crisis and transform for the future

SINGAPORE,Aug. 26,2021 -- Leading regional F&B tech startup Chope and Alipay,the world's leading digital payment platform operated by Ant Group,announced a strategic partnership today,working together to accelerate digitalisation of F&B businesses across Asia.

Through this strategic partnership,Alipay will provide Chope with its mini program Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and know-how,while Chope becomes Alipay's platform partner with the capability to integrate a wide variety of mini programs quickly and flexibly,enhancing the functionality and scalability of Chope's platform.

Businesses of all sizes will now be able to easily integrate into the Chope app through mini programs,which are easy to build,highly-customisable and cost-effective. This allows F&B operators to reach Chope's millions of users,leverage Alipay's innovative technology and digitalise their operations in one fell swoop - providing speedy access to market,and a truly omni-channel experience. Meanwhile,diners can look forward to a wider variety of F&B types and dining services on the Chope app.

Arrif Ziaudeen,CEO of The Chope Group,said,"The pandemic has fueled adoption of digital solutions and services among F&B operators. For some,the extreme restrictions have forced them to finally adapt to digital lifestyles not only to remain competitive,but to survive. Our partnership with Alipay comes at an opportune time to help lead this evolutionary step-change. We look forward to not only the F&B industry's recovery but also growth in the region,and we believe that building an open mini program ecosystem will be a powerful enabler of that. Working closely with Alipay and our F&B partners,our ambition is to do with Asia's giant foodservice industry what e-commerce has done with shopping".

This strategic partnership is a testament to Chope's position and strong reputation as the region's leading F&B technology startup with its products used by thousands of clients and backed by leading venture capital and tech investors. Chope works with the region's largest F&B operators and has become a ubiquitous app on diners' phones by combining a keen understanding of how restaurants really work with consumers' evolving habits. From reservations to table management,marketing,deals,and delivery,Chope has built a comprehensive offering and aggregated a fragmented market,forming a strong foundation for the Alipay partnership.

"We are constantly striving to support the digital transformation of the service industries including F&B,and we strongly believe in an open ecosystem approach so that our partners can make the most use of our capabilities such as the mini program SaaS," said Cherry Huang,General Manager,Global Merchant Partnership,South and Southeast Asia,Alipay. "Chope makes an outstanding partner of choice for Alipay with its vision to drive innovation and its vast network of local F&B operators,many of which are small and medium-sized businesses. With Chope's integration with Alipay's mini program,we look forward to supporting the recovery of local F&B businesses and helping them thrive."

This strategic partnership comes as the local F&B industry continues to tackle the challenges brought upon by the ongoing pandemic,signaling both firms' continued commitment to the recovery of the local F&B industry.

About Chope

Chope wants you to dive into the good things in life by getting out — and what better way to do so than with food? In our mission to be Asia's premier dining platform,our goal is to match millions of restaurants to billions of diners,ensuring that people can regularly and easily make the most out of their dining experiences.

Having seated more than 83 million diners to date,Chope is well-positioned to understand what gets people excited about dining out,and how best to maximise business for our 5,000 restaurant partners. With Chope,diners can discover restaurants,make instant bookings,and save with great dining deals. Chope's demand generating diner platform is seamlessly incorporated with a suite of integrated solutions that encompass reservation,call,queue,and table management. This technology frees restaurants up to focus on what they do best: Providing their customers with the best food and service.

Founded in 2011 and currently in seven cities (Singapore,Hong Kong,Bangkok,Phuket,Shanghai,Bali,and Jakarta),Chope has grown consistently over the past 10years,and despite the effects of COVID-19 on the F&B industry this past year,are bouncing back stronger than ever. Powering this growth is Chope's close relationships with top restaurant partners,which include The Lo & Behold Group,JUMBO Group,Soho Hospitality,Lost Heaven,Dining Concepts,Hospitality Management Asia,Ismaya Group and The Union Group. Chope's ecosystem is further enriched by key partnerships with the likes of Google,TripAdvisor,Meituan Dianping,DBS and CapitaLand.

Visit www.chope.co and download the app (www.chope.co/app) for more information.

About Alipay

Alipay is the leading digital payment platform in China,serving hundreds of millions of users,and connecting them with merchants and partner financial institutions that offer inclusive financial services and digital daily life services such as food delivery,transport,entertainment,and healthcare.