DUBAI, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) payment solutions provider Network International has partnered with China's Alipay to provide mobile payment service to Chinese shoppers, the firm announced on Saturday.

Operating in the Middle East and Africa region, Network International said its support of Alipay, a third-party online payment solution provider, will strengthen UAE merchants' offering to the growing number of Chinese shoppers in the UAE.

The service will be available since October.

Network International, with its new N-Genius platform that can facilitate multiple payment methods on one device, will act as both settlement partner and solution provider for mobile-based transactions via Alipay at points of sale and for online purchases.

Established in 1994, Network International serves more than 70,000 merchants and 200 financial institutions across 55 countries.

Paul Clarke, Network International Product and Innovation group head, said Alipay, headquartered in Shanghai, is one of the world's largest online and mobile payment platforms.

Alipay was founded by Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma in 2004. Its parent company is the world's most valuable fintech firm Ant Financial, an affiliate company of Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group.

The UAE, with approximately 10 million inhabitants, has a community of about 200,000 Chinese expatriates. In addition, 453,000 Chinese tourists visited Dubai in the first six months of 2018, representing a 9 percent increase year on year, according to the government-controlled Dubai Tourism authority.