Ant International recently announced that its cross-border mobile payment solution Alipay+ has connected 2 million merchants across the country, enabling businesses, big or small, to better serve global visitors through a seamless payment experience with their home country e-wallets.

There are 16 e-wallets and bank apps accepted in Japan via Alipay+, a suite of cross-border digital payment and digitalization technology solutions, namely Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR China), MPay (Macao SAR China), South Korea's Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss, Singapore's OCBC Digital, Changi Pay and EZ-Link, Malaysia's Touch 'n Go eWallet and MyPB by Public Bank Berhad, the Philippines' GCash and HelloMoney, TrueMoney (Thailand), Hipay (Mongolia), and Tinaba (Italy).

Powered by Alipay+, transaction volume made by e-wallets and bank apps in Japan jumped over 200 percent in the first three weeks of March, compared with the same period in 2023. Transaction value is estimated to account for about 10 percent of total spending among users during their stay in the country, Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International, said during a press conference in Tokyo.

Among all, Alipay, AlipayHK, Kakao Pay, Touch 'n Go eWallet, GCash and TrueMoney are among the most popular e-wallets used by travelers to Japan, while MPay, Naver Pay and Toss are seeing rapid growth in transactions.

"We are grateful to our over 40 local acquiring partners in Japan, including both big institutions as well as small ones that only have several employees, for their tremendous support to promote a seamless, transparent and efficient experience together for local businesses and international travelers," Feagin said. "By working with these partners, Alipay+ provides global tourists with a seamless digital payment experience that is the same as in their own markets. Without any extra effort, tourists can make purchases by simply scanning the QR code at merchants of all sizes, without worrying about foreign currency exchange or any language barriers."

Introduced by Ant International in 2020, Alipay+ now connects over 88 million merchants in 57 countries and regions to 1.5 billion consumer accounts on over 25 e-wallets and bank apps, allowing consumers to travel and pay hassle-free globally, and merchants to build out cross-border consumer engagement and digital marketing.

The service builds on Alipay+'s extensive regional partnerships, including those with national QR schemes including Singapore's SGQR, Malaysia's PayNet, South Korea's ZeroPay, Sri Lanka's LankaPay and Cambodia's KHQR.