Singapore, 28 January 2025 – As global tourism transitions from a year of recovery to a year of growth in 2025, global merchants tap on Alipay+, Ant International’s cross-border mobile payment and digitalisation solutions, to enhance payments, in-app marketing and digital services development, to attract and welcome tourists for Chinese New Year, the first travel peak of the year.
Alipay+ supports over 35 international wallet and bank payment partners, connecting their 1.6 billion user accounts to more than 90 million merchants in 66 markets. Alipay+ recently enabled acceptance for new partners, including Kaspi.kz (Kazakhstan) and BigPay (Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand), connecting even more users to its global merchants.
Alipay+ partners with global merchants to launch exclusive Chinese New Year campaigns to excite travellers
Around the world, Alipay+ and its merchant partners are jointly introducing promotions for Alipay+ payment partner users, in anticipation of the seasonal travel surge. Together with Alipay+, leading retailers like Resorts World Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands, Central Retail, King Power, Pavilion KL, Lotte World, Olive Young, Daimaru, Printemps, Galleries Lafayette and airport duty free stores with more than one hundred thousand stores are driving in-store and in-app engagement with upsized rewards.
- China: Travellers can use Alipay and 13 international payment apps to make convenient, seamless payments. Users of AlipayHK, Mpay, Touch ‘n Go eWallet, TrueMoney and GCash, can access promotional packs in over 100 Consumer Friendly Zones in top cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and more, with merchant spotlights and special discounts. The International Consumer Friendly Zones program expands bilingual support, offers user guides and bolsters merchant training to provide a more welcoming experience for travellers
- South Korea: Alipay+ is accepted at over 2 million merchants, including all merchants who accept ZeroPay. Users can enjoy tiered discounts at selected merchants, and in Seoul, users can also expect additional benefits including at Lotte World and select stores in the Myeongdong, Dongdaemun and Seongsu districts. To facilitate ease of travel, the NAMANE x Alipay+ Transit Pass Card was recently launched for nationwide use on buses and subways.
- Japan: Alipay+ enables payment at over 3 million merchants across the country, including izakayas, wagashi shops, snack stores, guesthouses, leading retailers, health and beauty stores, and top attractions like Tokyo SKYTREE, Tokyo Solamachi and Tokyo mizumachi.
- Southeast Asia: Alipay+ is widely accepted, including via DuitNow in Malaysia and SGQR in Singapore, and local transportation options including trains in Malaysia and Thailand, and taxis in Singapore. In the Philippines, Alipay+ welcomes SM Supermalls, the largest retail chain in the Philippines and cornerstone of Filipino lifestyle culture, and Hennan Group of Resorts, a premier hospitality brand with 10 resorts in Boracay and Bohol. Users can expect special promotions at top retailers like Pavilion KL, Central Retail in Thailand, and Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, along with nationwide vouchers for use at any local merchants accepting Alipay+.
- Europe: In popular European destinations like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Alipay+ payment partner users can enjoy discounts at retailers, restaurants and attractions
- Middle East: Alipay+ payment partner users will enjoy discounts at all Alipay+ merchants across the region and upsized rewards at duty-free stores in major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul.
2025 is expected to be a year of growth for the travel industry, with all regions seeing a greater number of travellers than pre-pandemic in 2019. In the Asia hotspots of Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, a joint report by Ant International and IDC found that tourism spending will increase more than 330% by 2027, and greater integration of payment methods across online and offline commerce will unlock even greater growth.
“Tourism is playing an increasingly significant role to local economies, accelerating growth for merchants across sectors, but businesses need to adapt to new digital habits and preferences,” said Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International. “Starting with mobile payments, Alipay+ offers merchants solutions to connect, engage and retain customers who want to leverage technology to enhance their travel experiences. We will continue to offer more innovative ways for businesses to transform and benefit from the continued growth in tourism.”
Unified solution for merchants to engage travellers from payments to digital services
Travellers can simply use their preferred home payment app, including e-wallets, banks apps and BNPL. These travellers can “travel like a local” and pay seamlessly at online and offline merchants across their travel journey from OTAs, airlines and hotels, to street-side vendors, restaurants, shopping malls, attractions, transportation and more. More than 90% of Alipay+ merchants are MSMEs so that these small businesses can grow by accepting multiple international payment apps.
Alipay+ is accepted at offline merchants in key destinations across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, covering a wide range of travel scenarios. Through its partnerships with standardised QR operators like PayPay in Japan, ZeroPay in South Korea, DuitNow in Malaysia, SGQR in Singapore and the Alipay merchant network in the Chinese mainland, users of Alipay+’s partner payment apps can make convenient payment almost everywhere in these Asian hotspots. Alipay+ continues to grow its acceptance in Europe with more than 400,000 merchants and supporting interoperable payments via Bluecode.
Via Antom, Ant International’s merchant payment and digitisation services provider, Alipay+ also connects leading Asian e-wallets to online travel platforms, most recently with AirAsia MOVE and Booking.com, simplifying the overall payments process for Asian travellers looking for a getaway this Chinese New Year and beyond.
Through A+Rewards, an in-app destination marketing platform, merchants and tourism boards can directly engage travellers, showcasing the best food, attractions and shopping in each destination, and offering exclusive promotions to attract more new customers. For example, in Singapore, through a collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board, travellers can purchase a discounted voucher pack to use for taxis, convenience stores, shopping malls and in top attractions like Sentosa and Mandai Wildlife Reserve.
Further enhancing and streamlining the travel experience, Alipay+ offers mini programme development solutions so users of its payment partners can access a range of services, ranging from attractions booking, ride hailing and tax refunds directly within the app, saving the hassle of downloading additional apps or spending time for physical processes. Ahead of Chinese New Year, the Geneva Tourism Bureau is leveraging Alipay+’s mini program solution to launch an in-app hub on select e-wallets and banking apps to support tourists with their navigation, booking attractions, and enhancing the travel experience in Switzerland.
About Alipay+
Ant International’s Alipay+ is a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalisation solutions that help connect global merchants to consumers. Consumers enjoy seamless payment and a broad choice of deals using their preferred payment methods while travelling abroad. Small and medium-sized businesses may use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.
