Alipay+ has enabled users of 14 popular overseas e-wallets from nine countries and regions to make payments in Hong Kong using their native apps.
Made possible through Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalisation technology solutions operated by Ant International, this initiative extends its reach to a population exceeding 1.2 billion individuals. It offers them a secure and effortless payment experience in Hong Kong, “Asia’s World City”, catering to the increasing number of inbound tourists.
“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,” Venetia Lee, CEO of AlipayHK and Greater China General Manager of Ant International, said.
“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.”
Additionally, this development will support local merchants, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to integrate payments from 14 global e-wallet operators into their existing AlipayHK payment codes, enabling businesses to broaden their customer base and expand their businesses without requiring any additional setup.
This marks the largest number of international payment apps introduced to the city’s offline commercial network through cross-border cooperation at a single time, with these newly enabled wallets now accepted at over 90% of the local outlets in Hong Kong.
At the moment, the newly brought e-wallets and bank apps 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).
Some of these wallets were made available to Alipay in 2023 as it expanded the e-wallet services it provided by adding seven new ones bringing the total number to 10, at the time.
As mentioned earlier this move will support tourists in the city. In 2023 alone, Hong Kong welcomed over 34 million travellers and in the initial quarter of 2024, the city recorded a total of 11.23 million visitor arrivals.
Becky Ip, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, commented: “Hong Kong is a world-class tourism destination. As the city’s tourism promotion organisation, 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 maximise the contribution of the tourism industry to the economy.”
