Advertisement
Ant Group
TechBig Tech

Chinese fintech giant Ant Group expands overseas payment service Alipay+ to serve visa-free, Lunar New Year travellers

  • The cross-border mobile payment service has been expanded to cover tens of millions of stores in Asia and Europe, Ant says
  • China has waived visa requirements for travellers from several countries, while Chinese tourists are expected to head abroad during Lunar New Year

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Alipay+ is designed to help small businesses accept payments from travellers using their own local electronic wallets. Photo: Reuters
Xinmei Shen

Ant Group, an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, is boosting its operations throughout Asia, as the Chinese fintech major seeks to capitalise on the country’s visa-free policy and an anticipated Lunar New Year travel boom.

Advertisement

Ant recently expanded the availability of Alipay+, its cross-border mobile payment service, across Asia and in parts of Europe, covering more than 100,000 stores in Thailand and Dubai, respectively, and 10,000 taxis in 12 Italian regions, the company said on Tuesday.

Alipay+ is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses accept payments from travellers using their own local electronic wallets. It now supports 25 partner e-wallets and bank apps covering more than 88 million merchants in 57 markets, the firm said.

The service expansion comes as Beijing introduces new visa-free policies to promote tourism and business ties amid a sluggish economy. Starting last December 1 until November 30, 2024, travellers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia are allowed to stay in China without a visa for 15 days.
From Lunar New Year’s Eve, which falls on February 9, China and Singapore will also mutually allow each other’s citizens to travel, visit families and go on business trips without a visa for 30 days. This comes after Malaysia and Thailand waived visa requirements for Chinese travellers for stays of up to 30 days.
More Chinese travellers are expected to head overseas during the coming Lunar New Year – the second since China scrapped its stringent Covid-19 restrictions in late 2022. However, the numbers are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels as the country grapples with economic headwinds.
Advertisement

At home, regulatory pressure appears to be easing on Ant after it underwent a major restructuring following the cancellation of its planned dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong in late 2020.

Advertisement