Allows payment via WeChat Pay and Alipay

OTTAWA, May 11, 2018—Ottawa Tourism signed an agreement today to make Ottawa-based fintech company Motion Pay the organization’s preferred Chinese payment partner (see photo attached). Under the terms of the agreement, signed in the office of Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Ottawa Tourism will promote the service to its member businesses—which include key hotels, attractions, tour companies, retailers, restaurants, and more in Canada’s capital region—and Motion Pay will offer preferred pricing for those businesses.

Motion Pay allows Chinese visitors to use payment methods they are accustomed to using—WeChat Pay and Ali Pay are two of the most popular payment methods in China. Transactions are processed at the point of sale through the user’s mobile phone using QR Code technology. Ottawa Tourism members will also be able to offer WeChat Pay and Alipay for on-line transactions through Motion Pay’s technology.

The Canadian Museum of History is currently in the process of integrating Motion Pay into their operation. In 2017, Ottawa welcomed 41,000 Chinese visitors to the region, an increase of 6.2% over 2016 numbers.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson pointed to the agreement as an excellent example of how Ottawa’s two largest private sector industries—high technology and tourism—can work together. “This collaboration between Motion Pay and Ottawa Tourism will make it easier for Chinese visitors to enjoy their time exploring Ottawa,” says Mayor Watson. “This builds on our efforts to honour the Sister City agreement we signed with Beijing almost 20 years ago, and it is just the latest step in strengthening our friendship with China.”

“As 2018 is the Canada-China Year of Tourism, Ottawa Tourism is working to improve the visitor experience for those who come here from China,” says Michael Crockatt, Ottawa Tourism’s President and CEO. “Already this year, we have offered training sessions to our member businesses, we have launched an incentive program for Chinese tour operators, and now we are encouraging our members to embrace technology to allow our visitors to use Chinese payment systems for a seamless experience.”

“We are excited to introduce our technology to Ottawa Tourism’s member businesses—from hotels to restaurants to retailers to attractions,” says Riven Zhang, CEO and co-founder at Motion Pay. “As a proud Ottawa company already active across Canada, we look forward to extending our business at home.”

About Ottawa Tourism

Ottawa Tourism provides destination development and marketing, strategic direction, and leadership in cooperation with members and partners to service the travel media and attract visitors, tours and conventions to Ottawa and Canada’s Capital Region. Its vision is to offer the complete capital experience, tell the story of Canada and get people talking.

About Motion Pay

Motion Pay is a proud Ottawa fintech which brought WeChat Pay and Alipay to Canada. It serves over 1,000 business locations across the country from PEI to Victoria, B.C., and is the largest provider of WeChat Pay and Alipay in the country. Motion Pay also offers Chinese marketing services through its partner LAT Multilingual.

For more information, please contact:


Julia Thomson
Project Coordinator, Communications, Ottawa Tourism
613-237-5150, ext. 1145
press@ottawatourism.ca

Riven Zhang
CEO and co-founder, Motion Pay
613-319-6686, ext. 101
riven@motionpay.ca