Chinese digital payment giant Ant Group has officially integrated seven prominent Asian e-wallets and payment apps into its “Alipay+-in-China” Program (A+China Program).
The firm confirmed that users of mPay (Macao SAR, China), Hipay (Mongolia), Changi Pay (Singapore), OCBC (Singapore), Naver Pay (South Korea), Toss Pay (South Korea), and TrueMoney (Thailand) can now utilize their domestic e-wallets on their mobile devices for an uninterrupted mobile payment experience in mainland China, leveraging Alipay’s extensive merchant infrastructure.
With these additions, the number of foreign e-wallets accepted in mainland China now stands at ten.
The A+China Program, initiated in 2022 with pilot e-wallets AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), Touch ’n Go eWallet (Malaysia), and Kakao Pay (South Korea), connects to over 175 million users across Southeast and East Asia.
These e-wallet users can now conduct smooth and secure transactions wherever Alipay is accepted, with the added benefits of transparent exchange rates and Alipay+ Rewards.
Alipay+ is a cross-border mobile payment, marketing, and digitalization solution suite, crafted by Ant Group’s International Business Group. Its main objective is to bridge global and local merchants with cross-border digital consumers.
Outside China, the platform spans over 5 million merchants across 56 countries, collaborating with 20+ mobile payment partners in Asia, reaching over 1.4 billion consumer accounts.
Douglas Feagin, Senior VP of Ant Group, emphasized the importance of expanding partnerships, merchant networks, and fortifying the digital operations of SMEs in Alipay+’s strategic plans. He stated:
We will invest faster and deeper in payment and digital marketing technologies to aid our partners and merchants in achieving solid, multi-channel growth.
Furthermore, the NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, backed by the People’s Bank of China, highlighted its role in ensuring secure transaction data exchange and fund clearing services for cross-border mobile payments involving Ant Group and international digital wallets.
Eric Jing, CEO of Ant Group, lauded the regional multi-party collaboration, expressing his aspirations for broader collaborations and leveraging digital technology to enhance global living standards.
Recent data revealed a 47-fold growth in payments made in China through the initial A+China wallets between March and August 2023. And as per PricewaterhouseCoopers, cashless transactions are projected to double or triple by 2030.
The digital wallet trend, although led by China, is growing rapidly in Asia, especially Southeast Asia.
