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Alipay+ lets smaller merchants, such as this shop in Tokyo, accept payments made using foreign digital wallets. Photo: Xinmei Shen
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Ant International pushes ‘significant’ expansion of Alipay+ tourist payment service amid major group overhaul

  • The company aims to add more partner wallets to the Alipay+ network and achieve a double-digit percentage increase in partnering merchants
  • Mobile payments made through 16 wallets supported by Alipay+ now account for 10 per cent of total tourist spending in Japan, Ant says
Ant Group
Xinmei Shen
Xinmei Shenin Tokyo, Japan
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Chinese 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 aims 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 hopes to achieve a double-digit percentage jump in international merchants served by Alipay+ this year, according to Feagin, adding that the firm’s strategy is 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 supports 25 digital wallets and covers 88 million merchants across 57 markets, Ant said in January.
The Alipay+ booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, last month. Photo: Xinhua

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

In Japan, Alipay+ has 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 account for 10 per cent of total tourist spending in Japan, according to Feagin.

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 (IPO) was halted in late 2020.

Under the plan, announced in an internal letter to employees, Ant International will become an independent unit with its own board of directors, paving the way for a full-fledged spin-off eventually.

Ant Group restructures operations into independent units to spur growth

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.

Since the derailed public listing, Ant has paid a hefty fine of nearly US$1 billion for regulatory violations, boosted the capital base of its credit unit, and distanced itself from Alibaba co-founder and former chairman Jack Ma.

After a dilution of Ma’s voting rights to around 6.2 per cent from more than 50 per cent, the Chinese central bank agreed last December that Ant has no controller, a necessary step for the company to put its IPO back on track.

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

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