SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Alipay+, provider of global cross-border digital payment and marketing solutions, announced that its merchant coverage has more than doubled to 2.5 million, as it continues to work to connect businesses to more digital payment methods by working with sourcing partners.
The payment methods merchants can adopt through one-time integration have now reached 15, allowing them to tap over 1 billion e-wallet users and unlock the spending potential of the mobile-savvy consumer.
Angel Zhao, President of International Business, Ant Group, shared the vision of Alipay+ and the latest developments at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) on Thursday.
“While many of you are familiar with the success of Alipay in China, Alipay+ is not another SuperApp we are launching globally. Built on top of Alipay’s technological capabilities and know-how, Alipay+ offers cross-border digital payment and marketing solutions that connect global merchants , online and offline, with multiple e-wallets and payment methods from different countries and regions and helps merchants engage with mobile-savvy consumers of these payment methods. We have made a remarkable start since the official debut last year,” Zhao said at the company’s product showcase event called “It’s a PLUS: How Alipay+ and Partners Build Digital Resilience for Businesses”.
“As businesses recover from the pandemic, Alipay+ plays an important role in building merchant resilience by working with our partners. Through simple integration, more than 2.5 million merchants worldwide are able to access and better serve the growing user population of various leading digital payment providers, as digital transformation takes hold around the world, she said.
The merchant network of Alipay+ includes regional and global providers of digital entertainment, lifestyle services, e-commerce platforms and a wide range of brick-and-mortar businesses covering major airports, shopping malls, duty-free shops, convenience stores, cafes, restaurants and tourism facilities.
The global merchant coverage of Alipay+ by sector includes over 1,000 online platforms, more than 10 major airports, over 90,000 convenience stores, over 360,000 restaurants, nearly 200,000 taxis and major hotel brands, department stores, duty-free shops and tourist facilities in Asia and Europe.
Over the past six months, Alipay+ has gained ground in markets including Southeast Asia, South Korea and Japan, connecting local and regional merchants with various digital payment methods. Last month, three more Asia e-wallets were introduced to Singapore through Alipay+, bringing the total number of foreign e-wallets accepted to six. It follows new announcements about trade partnerships in South Korea and Japan.
Mainland China has become the latest destination for users of South Korea’s Kakao Pay and Malaysia’s Touch ‘n Go eWallet in a bid to improve a seamless and convenient payment experience for international visitors ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Zhao announced on Thursday.
They will be able to pay with their home apps when they visit China. AlipayHK has been accepted in mainland China through an earlier integration.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Alipay+ on cross-border payment solutions and expand our service area beyond Singapore, Japan and South Korea. Touch ‘n Go eWallet is the first Malaysian eWallet that can be used for payments in China. This bodes well for all our users traveling there.We expect our users to have the same seamless experience and convenience of using Touch ‘n Go eWallet in China as they would in Malaysia, with the assurance that their transactions are secure and secure. We will continue to increase our acceptance to more markets in the time to come,” said Alan Ni, CEO of TNG Digital Sdn Bhd.
“We are very excited about the long-awaited prospect of Kakao Pay users being able to make payments in China starting this year,” said Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun, commenting on the partnership. “As the first provider of such a service, we look forward to providing a huge amount of convenience for Korean travelers to China.”
Zhao also revealed that Alipay+ Rewards, the digital marketing platform developed by Alipay+ with partner e-wallets to help global brands better engage with consumers worldwide through digital coupons and exclusive deals, has already been adopted by six mobile payment apps, GCash (Philippines) ), DANA (Indonesia), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), TrueMoney (Thailand) and AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China).
About Alipay+
Alipay+ provides unified global mobile payment and marketing solutions that connect merchants with multiple e-wallets and payment methods from different countries and regions by collaborating with global partners. Consumers can easily use their preferred local payment methods while shopping seamlessly in another market and can enjoy promotional offers from merchants through Alipay+. Alipay+ is developed by Ant Group, the owner and operator of Alipay, one of the world’s leading digital open platforms.
About Alipay+ Rewards
Alipay+ Rewards is a new digital marketing platform developed by Alipay+ with partner e-wallets to help global brands better engage with consumers around the world by offering incentives and exclusive services.
