Alibaba’s third-party online payment service platform, Alipay, released an emergency statement on its Weibo account on Thursday, saying that everyone, including its staff, can pay how they want and their choice should be respected.

The announcement came after Alibaba’s Chairman Jack Ma was seen paying for his bill with a bank card instead of Alipay at a bar in southwest China’s Chongqing, Jan. 10.

“Doesn’t Alipay want to help build a cashless society?” Weibo users joked. However, Alipay said it has never wanted to put an end to cash, adding that new forms of payment don’t make older ones obsolete.

Jack Ma reportedly showed up at a little-known bar Wednesday evening. However, he was soon recognized and left after about an hour.