Thunes, a cross-border payments company, announced a partnership with Alipay+, a suite of cross-border payments and marketing solutions operated by Ant Group.
Thanks to this collaboration, Thunes’ customers and merchants in Europe will now be able to accept Asia’s most widely-used mobile wallets:
- China’s Alipay
- Malaysia’s Touch ’n Go and Boost
- Philippines’ GCash
- South Korea’s KakaoPay
- Thailand’s Rabbit LINE Pay and TrueMoney
Merchants that work with Thunes will be able “to serve online consumers from Asian markets and accept mobile wallet payments during checkout.”
On top of that, consumers will also be able “to use their respective mobile wallets to pay in-store purchases in Europe, using a dedicated Point-of-Sale mobile application that supports QR-code payments.”
The partnership will “expand the geographical coverage of the local payment methods available via Thunes: the company already offers a wide range of alternative payment methods (APMs) popular with customers in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and now Asia.”
Christophe Bourbier, Managing Director at Thunes Collections said:
“Thunes partnership with Alipay+ creates a truly global shopping experience for buyers and represents another major step in our mission to make payments borderless and inclusive. Mobile wallets are becoming the primary payment method across Asian consumers, and with international tourism demonstrating steady recovery, we expect to see significant demand for this solution from our 100,000 merchants.”
Kevin Liu, Country Manager for France at Ant Group said:
“Thunes is a strong partner for Alipay+ – the innovative solutions that enable merchants to reach users of major digital payment methods. This partnership will allow merchants to engage with shoppers through their favourite digital payment tools both online and in-store, and help speed up the digitalisation and globalisation of their business operation.”
One of the first Thunes customers that integrated the new payment experience is MyCompañero, a European luxury retailer “selling leading fashion brands such as Givenchy, Versace and Prada through a network of offline boutiques and an eCommerce website, myCompanero.com.”
The Thunes and Alipay+ partnership “provides MyCompañero access to new markets in Asia with their preferred payment methods.”
Thanks to its technology, Alipay+ reportedly “offers merchants multiple benefits: it helps them serve hundreds of millions of digital-first customers, reduces costs by simplifying implementation and offering a one-stop integration option, and leverages rich marketing solutions to help reach users directly.”