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.
This covers a population of approximately over 1.2 billion, allowing them to enjoy a safe and seamless payment experience in “Asia’s World City” as the number of inbound tourists to Hong Kong continues to rise.
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.
Since 2023, Hong Kong has seen a continued growth of inbound travellers following the launch of global campaigns by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to welcome visitors from all around the world. In 2023, more than 34 million travellers visited Hong Kong, and in the first quarter of 2024, a total of 11.23 million visitor arrivals were recorded. This represents 1.5 times year-on-year increment and demonstrates the continued and gradual growth of visitor arrivals.
“Hong Kong is a world-class tourism destination. As the city's tourism promotion organization, the Hong Kong Tourism Board attracts visitors to Hong Kong through various global promotions and marketing initiatives. We hope the trade can capture the opportunities brought along by visitors and roll out new products to enhance visitors’ experience in Hong Kong together and stimulate consumption to maximize the contribution of the tourism industry to the economy,” said Ms Becky Ip, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, who joined the launch to celebrate the largest cross-border mobile payment project the city has seen.
Mr Kang Sang Ho, Managing Director of Shilla Travel Retail (HK) Limited, said, “We are excited to be the first travel retailer to introduce Alipay+ to Hong Kong. We can now offer a more seamless and fruitful shopping experience to our customers and bring “Retail-tainment” to real life. Foreseeing the strong return of air passengers, we are confident that there will be a promising growth in our sales through the strategic partnership with Alipay+.”
“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.
“Hong Kong is one of the most beloved destinations to Korean tourists. We are happy to hear that Kakao Pay users can continue their convenient payment experience in Hong Kong in the same way as in Korea. Through this expansion, we expect to provide a high-quality payment experience for both Korean users and Hong Kong merchants,” said Won-Keun Shin, CEO of Kakao Pay, South Korea.
“We have been cooperating with Alipay+ to ensure that digital payments take root around the world and will continue innovation together,” said Shin.
“Hong Kong is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Mongolians. Mongolian travellers benefit from visa-free entry, making it an attractive spot to visit. We are thrilled about the official launch of Alipay+ in Hong Kong, offering our users the convenience of paying with their home wallet,” said Saikanjargal Enkh-Amgalan, CEO of Hipay, Mongolia.
Alan Ni, CEO of TNG eWallet, Malaysia, conveyed his appreciation, stating, “We are pleased to be recognized as one of Alipay+’s esteemed International eWallet partners. Through this collaboration, TNG eWallet users can conveniently make payments and immerse themselves in new cultures, such as the vibrant streets of Hong Kong, all thanks to Alipay+. Since the introduction of our overseas QR payment feature in Hong Kong in October 2023, we've observed steady growth that underscores our commitment to serving our users as the preferred eWallet in Malaysia. We remain dedicated to ensuring our users feel supported wherever they go, equipped with a familiar eWallet experience that truly makes them feel like they're experiencing life like a local.”
Addressing the launch of cross-border payment in Hong Kong, Monsinee Nakapanant, Co-President of Ascend Money, the operator of TrueMoney, Thailand, said, “Hong Kong has always been ranked in the list of top destinations for Thai travellers due to its vibrant city life, shopping opportunities, culinary experiences, and iconic attractions. Almost half a million Thais travel to Hong Kong each year. We feel thankful for Alipay+’s expansive network and are excited to include Hong Kong as one of our cross-border footprint and destinations, where Thais can use their home wallet to pay with ease, convenience, and greater peace of mind.”
“Our partnership with Alipay+ has significantly expanded the number of countries in which our customers can use OCBC Digital to make cross-border payments. Our customers’ expenditure in Greater China, including Hong Kong, has almost doubled since six months ago. In Hong Kong, transaction value in March was 5 times higher compared to February, most likely due to the school holidays. These figures show that our OCBC Digital users see value in using the app to make cross-border payments, and our tie-up with Alipay+ has enabled them to do so without having to exchange cash or download additional e-wallet apps”, said Sunny Quek, Head of Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC, Singapore.
Sun Ho, Chairman and CEO of Macau Pass, Macao SAR, said: “I am very delighted to see that through collaboration with Alipay+, our e-wallet MPay enables residents of Macao to enjoy a seamless cross-border mobile payment experience in Hong Kong without the need for currency exchange, thus greatly enhancing the convenience and security of payments. This significantly enhances the convenience and security of payments and also meets the needs for cross-border financial transactions within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. MPay is committed to expanding in electronic payment services, lifestyle services, and marketing technology services, continuously opening up and enriching the application scenarios of cross-border mobile wallet payments, allowing the world to gain a deeper understanding of the inclusive ecosystem and vitality of Macao's digital economy.”
“We are thrilled to further strengthen our bond with a world-class partner like Alipay+. The launch of the Alipay+ service in Hong Kong marks a significant step in our strategic plan and underscores our commitment to a key market in the global economy. This partnership not only reaffirms Tinaba as the leading European operator but also distinguishes us as the sole provider in Italy of this advanced technology. Thanks to this collaboration, our Italian clients can now directly access the largest mobile payment ecosystem in Asia, straight from our app,” states Matteo Arpe, Chairman of Tinaba, Italy.
“As we see Filipino travellers to Hong Kong reach pre-pandemic levels, our enhanced partnership with Alipay+ couldn’t have come at a better time. This makes GCash the best way to pay not only in the Philippines but also in Hong Kong as we offer real-time forex rates, no service fees, as well as deals and discounts,” said Paul Albano, General Manager of GCash International, The Philippines.
Jae-Ho Choi, Head of Toss Pay Business, South Korea, stated, “Toss Pay now provides more than 19 million monthly active users with an easy and seamless offline payment service in 49 countries and regions, including Hong Kong. With a strong partnership with Alipay+, Toss Pay will expand its business in the global payment sector.”
“As the outbound tourism on the Chinese mainland is showing strong growth momentum, in 2024, we have collaborated with millions of merchants worldwide to continuously launch new campaigns and offerings to enrich users’ payment experience and help merchant partners’ business growth. From May 1, we will also start allowing Alipay users to obtain energy at the in-app mini program Ant Forest when they take public transport with their Alipay app in Hong Kong, on the backdrop of our continued endeavour to enable sustainable travels among Chinese tourists when travelling to all over the world,” said Huang Ya’nan, Head of Outbound Travel, Alipay.
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 2 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.
Travellers 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.