As countries like Singapore and Thailand welcome Chinese tourists without visas, Ant International’s Alipay+ is enhancing its global travel initiative for its partners in the hospitality and tourism sectors, just in time for the first significant Chinese New Year travel period since the Covid pandemic.
Alipay+ operates in 57 markets, linking over 88 million worldwide merchants to 1.5 billion users through more than 25 top e-wallets and payment applications. This enables international travellers to conveniently and securely make payments both online and offline using their preferred payment apps from home. Merchants also benefit from Alipay+’s digital marketing and growth tools for more effective engagement with consumers, both locally and internationally.
By January 2024, Alipay+ has partnered with numerous wallets and banking apps, including Alipay (Chinese Mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), GCash (Philippines), TrueMoney (Thailand), Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), OCBC Digital (Singapore), and others.
Douglas L. Feagin, President of Alipay+, anticipates 2024 to be a year of digital breakthroughs in cross-border online and offline commerce. He highlights Chinese New Year as an ideal opportunity to launch new partnerships, campaigns, and products, aiming to create a seamless travel experience and support businesses of all sizes.
Exclusive initiatives are underway to promote merchant growth and provide savings for users. With the 2024 Chinese New Year starting on February 10th, China’s outbound travel bookings have increased significantly, favouring visa-free destinations like Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as Japan and South Korea. Singapore, for example, saw a sevenfold increase in bookings for Chinese New Year in 2023.
In Malaysia, shopping centres are preparing for a rise in international tourists. Thailand expects nearly 1 million foreign visitors, contributing substantially to the local economy, with Chinese mainland and Hong Kong tourists being the majority.
Alipay is enhancing its travel features with competitive exchange rates, free or discounted data roaming, and in-app ride-hailing in various destinations. Merchants worldwide are offering attractive packages:
- Special discount vouchers up to 90% for Alipay+ merchants in Southeast Asia
- Deals with over 500 street merchants near Mount Fuji and Kawaguchi Lake in Japan
- Discounts at ZeroPay merchants in South Korea, including popular shopping districts
- Exclusive offers from luxury European brands and major shopping centres
- Dubai Airport Duty Free Shops UEFA ticket lottery for Alipay+ users in the United Arab Emirates
Alipay+’s growth in 2024 builds on its 2023 expansion in key travel destinations. It became the exclusive cross-border digital partner for national QR schemes like SGQR (Singapore), DuitNow QR (Malaysia), and ZeroPay (South Korea). This allows Alipay+ users to pay with their home e-wallets at numerous local shops, enhancing the travel experience.
In Singapore, SQGR is accepted widely, including at hawker centres. Malaysia’s DuitNow QR is used by 1.8 million merchants, and South Korea’s ZeroPay covers 1.7 million merchants. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Malaysia added eight Alipay+ partners to DuitNow QR.
Other expansions include:
- Thailand: Over 100,000 Alipay+ partner stores including top brands and malls, plus convenience stores like 7-Eleven, McDonalds, and Big C
- Singapore: Growing merchant coverage at key tourist spots
- Japan: Alipay+ accepted at over 1.5 million merchants, with new payment partners added
- Europe: Alipay+ enabled vending machines with promotional offers
- Italy: Growing coverage with URI Taxi across major cities
- United Arab Emirates: New partnerships and wide acceptance of Alipay+, including tax refunds at airports
“Travel, especially international travel, is clearly an anchor for national and regional prosperity in Asia and beyond,” said Feagin. “Alipay+ will continue to expand partnerships and our repertoire of digitalisation tools to help communities thrive through cross-border travel and commerce. “
