Overview
- .alipay is a brand generic top-level domain (gTLD) representing the Alipay brand.
- It was delegated to the DNS Root Zone as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program and is managed by Alibaba Group with back-end registry services provided by Afilias.
History
- The string was applied for as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program (reveal day material referenced 13 June 2012).
- .alipay was delegated to the Root Zone on 16 January 2016.
- Registry management: Alibaba Group Holding Limited; back-end services: Afilias.
Usage and Audience
- Intended to represent and protect the Alipay brand online.
- Target audience is primarily the Alipay/Alibaba corporate ecosystem and affiliated entities rather than the general public.
Registration Rules
- The applicant stated an initial conservative registration model: only a limited number of Corporate Internal Users (CIU) would be allowed to apply for and register second-level .alipay domain names.
- Eligible registrants would include Alibaba Group and entities wholly owned by or affiliated with Alipay/Alibaba.
- This restricted approach was intended to serve trademark protection and to minimize technological, marketing, and operational risks.
- The policy was to be reviewed regularly and any relaxation of restrictions would follow consultation with ICANN and other stakeholders; changes were unlikely to occur until after the first three years of operation.
SEO and Brand Impact
- .alipay is a brand TLD intended to reinforce Alipay's trademark and brand positioning online.
- The restricted, corporate-focused registration policy emphasizes trademark protection and controlled brand use rather than open commercial adoption, supporting trust and brand clarity.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Alibaba Group also applied for other brand-related gTLDs including .alibaba, .taobao, and .tmall as part of the same new gTLD efforts.
Operator
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: ALIPAY
organisation: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
address: Fourth Floor, One Capital Place, P.O Box 847
address: George Town Grand Cayman KY1-1103
address: Cayman Islands (the)
contact: administrative
name: Project & Process Manager
organisation: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
address: Fourth Floor, One Capital Place
address: P.O Box 847
address: George Town Grand Cayman KY1-1103
address: Cayman Islands (the)
phone: +442070151717
e-mail: ngtld-alipay@cscglobal.com
contact: technical
name: Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Afilias
address: 300 Welsh Road
address: Building 3, Suite 105
address: Horsham PA 19044
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 215.706.5700
fax-no: +1 215.706.5701
e-mail: tld-tech-poc@afilias.info
nserver: A0.NIC.ALIPAY 2a01:8840:7e:0:0:0:0:25 65.22.128.25
nserver: A2.NIC.ALIPAY 2a01:8840:81:0:0:0:0:25 65.22.131.25
nserver: B0.NIC.ALIPAY 2a01:8840:7f:0:0:0:0:25 65.22.129.25
nserver: C0.NIC.ALIPAY 2a01:8840:80:0:0:0:0:25 65.22.130.25
ds-rdata: 9922 8 2 01dc2703db44dca0f990ff6b619de1879dd06bdda5756272751a4b510cfd76bf
whois: whois.nic.alipay
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.alibabagroup.com
created: 2016-01-08
changed: 2023-08-11
source: IANA
