On March 18, Alipay, which had just been upgraded to the open digital life platform, launched the City Life Weeks event, which offers consumers discounts at various food outlets and an "eat now, pay later" system.

Eleme, Alibaba Group's flagship takeaway-ordering app, and Koubei, the group's local services company participated in the event, along with hundreds of name-brands such as Starbucks and KFC.

During the event, consumers can enjoy discounts (50 percent at most) in restaurants such as Haidilao, the nation's largest hotpot restaurant chain. Coupons for goods at Starbucks and Burger King are also available.

The event also encourages customers to "eat now, pay later". Eleme and Koubei are promoting for the first time online "VIP cards for foodies", which allows people to "eat now, pay later" or pay in installments. After users open the food card app, they will have a monthly maximum of 1,500 yuan ($212) to spend on various products with Alipay or at the store checkout. In addition, the VIP card has other benefits, such as offering benefits according to the number of orders made each month by customers.

The event, which covers 12 cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou, will last until April 6.

An online foodies' festival jointly held by Eleme and Koubei kicks off March 18 to spur catering business in 12 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]