Ant International’s Alipay+, a unified wallet gateway, is expanding its network by adding more bank partners amid a surge in demand for cross-border mobile payments in the Asia Pacific region. The latest addition is Hang Seng Bank, marking Alipay+’s first banking partnership in Hong Kong. This collaboration allows Hang Seng Mobile App users to make payments via QR code at over 100 million merchants across more than 55 countries and regions.
Alipay+ is accepted in over 220 markets globally, enabling banks to offer cross-border payment services through a single integration. This system allows banks to expand app functionalities by integrating partner mini-programmes and plug-in solutions, enhancing user engagement. The platform’s established network with over 10 national QR systems, including Malaysia’s DuitNow and Thailand’s PromptPay, facilitates efficient scaling of mobile payment scenarios without the need for individual agreements between banks and merchants.
The demand for outbound cross-border payments from Asia Pacific is projected to grow faster than the global average, with consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-business payment volumes expected to reach 3.7 trillion by 2032. This growth presents significant opportunities for banks to offer seamless transaction experiences through familiar interfaces.
Banks in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have already connected their users to the Alipay+ network, providing convenient cross-border payment experiences. Beyond Alipay+, Ant International collaborates with banks through other services, such as the Falcon TST AI FX model, which offers long-term FX forecasts with up to 93% accuracy, and the AI-powered blockchain platform Whale for near-instant cross-border liquidity transfers.
