George Lawson’s role at Ant Financial is to grow Alipay’s ability to pay for goods and services in Australia. Alipay, for those that don’t know, is a lifestyle app with 520 million subscribers. That’s right- 520 million. In China, it is almost difficult to get around without the app. It is so ingrained as part of the lifestyle that it is used to pay for everything. When people go to the market, the first thing they do is open Alipay. While some would call it a payments app, that is only a fraction of what it does. It is used throughout every financial transaction, from cabs and bike rentals, to knowing where the best deal is, to paying for dinner.

11/11, also known as Singles Day, is the equivalent of Black Friday in the US, but much much bigger. Last year, Ali Pay processed $18 Billion USD on Singles Day. This year, Ali Pay processed $7 Billion USD in the first 30 minutes.

Originally conceived as an escrow service, Alipay has exploded until it is completely integrated into the modern China. It has built a network of trust among customers and merchants that enables commerce, frictionless payment, and frictionless information.

Alipay is a modern day behemoth, modeling the changes that are coming to consumer behavior, the payments industry, and global movement of money.