Users of 14 popular overseas e-wallets from 9 countries and regions can now make payments in Hong Kong using their home apps through Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions operated by Ant International.
Powered by Alipay+, users of these popular e-wallets will enjoy smooth payment experience with transparent and competitive exchange rates in Hong Kong whenever they encounter the Alipay+ / AlipayHK logo at the merchants in the city. Local merchants, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), can seamlessly accept payments from 14 global e-wallet operators through their existing AlipayHK payment codes, thereby further expanding their businesses without the needs of any additional investment.
Popular e-wallets and bank apps newly brought to the city by Alipay+ include MPay (Macao SAR, China), Changi Pay and OCBC Digital (Singapore), GCash and HelloMoney (The Philippines), Hipay (Mongolia), Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay (South Korea), MyPB by Public Bank Berhad and Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), TrueMoney (Thailand), and Tinaba (Italy). Similar to Alipay (Chinese mainland), these newly enabled wallets are now accepted at over 90% of the local outlets in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong is known for its breathtaking sceneries, vibrant city and community life, and the east-meet-west culture, as well as shopping, food, sightseeing, and public services, an exciting place that any globetrotters shouldn’t miss,” said Venetia Lee, CEO of AlipayHK and Greater China General Manager of Ant International.
“When we pay like locals, we can travel and experience the culture like locals. We are so excited to help users of our 14 wallet partners to expand their presence to over 90% of local merchants through AlipayHK’s network. This allows hassle-free payments, promotes the development of Hong Kong’s tourism industry, and helps local merchants enhance the effectiveness of their promotional activities through digital technology,” said Lee.
This represents the largest number of international payment apps introduced to the city’s offline commercial network through cross-border cooperation at a single time. In the meanwhile, Alipay+ and its wallet partners have also announced to create a joint mechanism on customer services — Alipay+ Service Collaboration Mechanism — in Hong Kong to support partners in improving cross-border payment experiences, enhancing operational efficiency, and providing better services to global digital wallet users and merchants through operational collaboration and product innovation.
“As Alipay+ helps more payment partners expand into larger markets, we must always uphold our shared commitments to consumers and merchants, and support our partners to provide more reliable, smooth and high-quality experiences for the cross-border users. Through this proactive Alipay+ Service Collaboration Mechanism, we can more efficiently solve problems, create greater user values, and help partners improve their operational efficiency,” said Jake Xue, General Manager for Global Business Service and Support, Ant International.
Introduced by Ant International in 2020, Alipay+ now connects over 88 million merchants in 57 countries and regions to 1.5 billion consumer accounts across more than 25 e-wallets and bank apps, allowing consumers to travel and pay hassle-free globally, and merchants to expand cross-border consumer engagement and digital marketing.
The service also builds on Alipay+’s extensive regional partnerships, including collaborations with national QR schemes including Singapore’s SGQR, Malaysia’s PayNet, South Korea’s ZeroPay, Sri Lanka’s LankaPay and Cambodia’s KHQR.
From online to offline, digital payments powered by Alipay+ are widely accepted by key merchants from Asian and European markets, spanning sectors such as food & beverage (F&B), tourism and hospitality, retail and transportation.
In addition to Hong Kong, Alipay+ partner wallets have already been accepted at various major global destinations including the Chinese mainland and Macao SAR, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Europe and the Middle East.
Ant Group now offers two mobile payment alternatives for overseas visitors in the Chinese mainland. A total of 11 overseas e-wallets and bank apps have already been enabled for payment at Alipay+’s extensive network of 80 million merchants in the Chinese mainland.
Travelers may also choose to bind major international bank cards, including Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover®, and Diners Club International, to an Alipay app to access a rich array of local Alipay services from shopping, dining, ride-hailing to public transportation while in the Chinese mainland, without needing a local bank account or phone number.
AlipayHK, the most popular e-wallet in Hong Kong with about 4 million active users, is widely accepted at more than 90% of local offline outlets for seamless payments.
