Alipay signed a deal with US local business recommendation tool Yelp to add retail and restaurant information to its mobile app targeted at Chinese tourists.

The payments company – which dominates the Chinese market alongside Tencent brands Tenpay and WeChat Pay – regularly enters into partnerships with retailers and transaction processors in tourist destinations.

Usually the deals are limited to enabling payments in participating venues, but its deal with Yelp will see it offer a wider number of services including recommendations and restaurant bookings.

Yelp’s customers will benefit from increased exposure to a potentially lucrative audience. The service will initially be launched in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco, before being rolled out more widely.

Alipay North America president Souheil Badran said: “Our partnership with Yelp expedites our goal towards a digital lifestyle and represents a substantial opportunity for US businesses to connect with the growing audience of Chinese travellers that would otherwise be difficult to reach.

The company’s “growing suite of location-based content and services” will “elevate” the experience of travellers, Badran added.

In addition to its acceptance drive in the US, last week the company signed a deal to access 100,000 merchants in Russia, which followed the signing of a number of deals targeting tourists in Europe.