Ant Group beefs up customer base for Hong Kong merchants by adding 14 foreign mobile payment apps to its network
- Overseas travellers from nine countries and regions can make payments in Hong Kong using their home wallet apps through Alipay+, operated by Ant Group
- Wallet partners include those from the Philippines, Mongolia, South Korea, Thailand and Italy and cover a population of 1.2 billion
China’s financial technology giant Ant Group has ramped up its digital payments network by partnering with 14 overseas mobile payment apps, which will give Hong Kong’s merchants access to a swathe of countries with a total population of around 1.2 billion.
The overseas apps are based in a wide range of countries. GCash and HelloMoney from the Philippines, Mongolia’s Hipay, South Korea’s Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay, Thailand’s TrueMoney and Italy’s Tinaba are among those that have signed up to this agreement.
“We are so excited to help users of our 14 wallet partners to expand their presence to over 90 per cent of local merchants through AlipayHK’s network,” said Venetia Lee, the chief executive officer of AlipayHK and Greater China general manager of Ant International at a press conference on Thursday.
“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,” Lee said.
Users of these e-wallets can make payments for goods and services at local shops in Hong Kong by scanning the merchant’s AlipayHK or Alipay+ payment codes. However, digital payment solutions currently exclude payments for public transport services.
