Alipay+ eyes major boost in partner wallets

Financial technology giant Ant Group is looking to “significantly” expand the global presence of its cross-border mobile payment service Alipay+, as the company pursues an organisational overhaul that includes a spin-off of its international arm.

Ant International aimed to considerably boost the number of partner wallets supported by Alipay+ this year, possibly by more than 10, unit president Douglas Feagin told the Post on the sidelines of a briefing in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The company also hoped to achieve a double-digit percentage jump in international merchants served by Alipay+ this year, said Feagin, adding that the firm’s strategy was to “fill out the coverage” across all Asian countries, and then expand to Europe and the US.

Alipay+, which helps small and medium-sized businesses take electronic payments from travellers using their own local apps, currently supported 25 digital wallets and covered 88 million merchants across 57 markets, Ant said in January.

Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post.

In Japan, Alipay+ had expanded to support 16 Asian mobile wallets and banking apps, covering 2 million merchants, Feagin said, allowing tourists from Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia to shop in Japan using payment apps at home.

Mobile payment transactions made through these 16 wallets now accounted for 10 per cent of total tourist spending in Japan, Feagin said.

Ant Group’s active international push comes after the fintech giant unveiled last week its most significant reorganisation since its nearly US$40 billion initial public offering was halted in late 2020. Under the plan, Ant International will become an independent unit with its own board of directors, paving the way for a full-fledged spin-off eventually.

The restructuring, which will also see OceanBase and Ant Digital Technologies become independent operations, is intended to allow Ant Group to pursue a transformation to focus on artificial intelligence, globalisation and the development of Alipay, according to the letter.

Separately, Ant International has said it was working with the International Finance Corporation and the Monetary Authority of Singapore on a project named Programme Sirus, which aims to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises reduce their carbon footprint.