Users of 14 e-wallets from nine countries and regions, including Macau’s MPay, will now have the capability to make payments within the city using their home apps through Alipay+.
Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions operated by Ant International, announced it has extended its services to cover a population of over 1.2 billion individuals.
Users of these widely-used e-wallets will benefit from a smooth payment experience with transparent and competitive exchange rates when encountering the Alipay+/AlipayHK logo at participating merchants across the city.
The company considered that this development not only ‘enhances convenience for consumers but also presents opportunities for local merchants, particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)’, to seamlessly accept payments from global e-wallet operators, thereby expanding their reach without additional investment.
Among the e-wallets and bank apps newly introduced to the city by Alipay+ are MPay from Macau; Changi Pay and OCBC Digital from Singapore; GCash and HelloMoney from The Philippines; Hipay from Mongolia; Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, and Toss Pay from South Korea; MyPB by Public Bank Berhad and Touch ‘n Go eWallet from Malaysia; TrueMoney from Thailand; and Tinaba from Italy.
These wallets, similar to Alipay from the Chinese mainland, are now accepted at over 90 per cent of local outlets in Hong Kong.
This marks the largest influx of international payment apps introduced to Hong Kong’s offline commercial network through cross-border cooperation at a single time.
Additionally, Alipay+ and its wallet partners have announced the establishment of a joint mechanism on customer services, named the Alipay+ Service Collaboration Mechanism, in Hong Kong.
This mechanism aims to support partners in enhancing cross-border payment experiences, operational efficiency, and overall services for global digital wallet users and merchants through operational collaboration and product innovation.
Sun Ho, Chairman and CEO of Macau Pass, Macao SAR, highlighted the benefits of collaboration, stating, that “through collaboration with Alipay+, our e-wallet MPay enables residents of Macau 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.”
The MPay cross-border payment service, launched by Macau Pass in August 2023, has already expanded its coverage to over fifty countries overseas, enabling the MPay wallet within the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR.
