Which isn't to say that won't happen in the future. This could be a move to get AliPay's foot in the door to later open its service up to US consumers. For now, the deal allows current customers to make purchases through the service at four million First Data-connected merchants, saving them the fuss and expense of currency exchange or international credit card fees.

As The Verge points out, if you're keen on keeping track of the global payment system scorecard, AliPay is now accepted in 70 countries compared to Apple Pay's 15 or Android Pay's 10. PayPal is still the leader by a longshot: Its service is supported in 200 countries and 25 currencies.