Twenty-six years ago, Jack Ma founded Alibaba with the vision of making business easier for everyone. Twenty-one years ago, Alipay was established, providing seamless payment solutions for countless users and merchants, furthering Alibaba's mission.
Today, Ant Group, spun off from Alibaba, has taken Alipay global, enabling smoother cross-border payments for businesses and consumers worldwide. With the approaching New Year and Lunar New Year holidays, travel demand is surging, and more people are venturing abroad—evident from social media posts showcasing international trips. Alipay's cross-border payment services are gaining traction, capitalizing on the global consumption boom.
As a cross-border mobile payment and digital platform, Alipay+ has integrated 40 e-wallets and 11 national QR code networks across the Asia-Pacific region, expanding its footprint to over 100 markets. This is just one facet of Ant International’s global strategy.
Beyond Alipay+, Ant International’s four core businesses—Antom, WorldFirst, and embedded financial services—have secured key cross-border payment gateways, covering consumer payments (C-end), merchant acquiring (B-end), and B2B transactions. This rapid expansion led to Ant Group’s restructuring last year, where its international arm became an independent entity, poised to drive growth and potentially re-enter capital markets.
**Global QR Code Adoption** A decade ago, the industry envisioned a unified global payment system—a utopian idea now materializing in consumer markets. With visa-free policies for Chinese tourists in multiple countries, year-end cross-border travel is expected to peak. Data from OTA platforms shows searches for "New Year" and "holiday" surged over 280% month-on-month.
South Korea, a top destination for Chinese tourists, exemplifies payment convenience. Alipay+ has introduced QR code payments—from street food stalls to public transit—mirroring China’s cashless ecosystem. The platform now connects 21 e-wallets and banking apps in Korea, covering 90% of popular tourist spots, including department stores, duty-free shops, and restaurants.
Alipay+’s integration with Korea’s public transport system enhances travel experiences, while service-based spending emerges as a new trend. From January to November, health and beauty transactions on Alipay in Korea grew 90%. Collaborations with K-pop events, like G-Dragon’s concert, highlight Alipay+’s push into fan-driven economies.
The results are clear: nearly 80% of inbound tourists in Korea used Alipay+-linked wallets this year, with mainland Chinese and Hong Kong visitors leading. Alipay users’ transaction volume in Korea rose 15% year-on-year.
Merchants also benefit. Shinsegae Duty Free, a market leader, adopted Alipay in 2016 and expanded to more e-wallets in 2021. Its Korean stores now see a 30% YoY increase in Chinese customer transactions. Even small vendors in Seoul’s Myeongdong Night Market report a 626% surge in Alipay+ payments this year.
With K-pop and K-beauty fueling demand, Alipay+ aims for 20% growth in Korea next year. Meanwhile, bidirectional payment convenience is boosting intra-Asia travel. UBS notes that Asia’s Gen Z, drawn by digital payment habits and cultural affinity, is driving cross-border tourism.
Alipay+ has entered a virtuous cycle of adoption and coverage. Ahead of the holiday season, Alipay will launch promotions with a million merchants worldwide, from 7-Eleven in Thailand to Sydney’s Fish Market.
**Pioneering Global Expansion** Ant Group’s operations span core businesses (digital connectivity, payments, finance) and innovation units (Ant International, Ant Digital Tech, OceanBase). Last March’s restructuring gave Ant International greater autonomy to accelerate growth.
The spin-off strategy aligns with Ant’s tech-focused pivot, leveraging capital markets for expansion. Ant International’s four divisions—Alipay+, WorldFirst (global SME accounts), Antom (merchant services), and Bettr (AI lending)—processed over $1 trillion in 2023, generating $3 billion in revenue with sustained profitability.
Yet, competition is fierce. PayPal, Adyen, and Stripe dominate cross-border payments, pushing Ant International to innovate with AI, blockchain, and stablecoins. For instance, Alipay+’s blockchain-based settlements eliminate delays for merchants and banks.
From January to September, inbound spending via Alipay+ and Alipay’s "foreign card domestic binding" surged 160%. Korean tourists led the charge, with transactions via KakaoPay, NAVER Pay, and Toss Pay up 98% in China.
Visa-free policies, instant tax refunds, and mobile payments are converting tourist flows into spending. Alipay’s tax-refund feature, available in 16 languages, guides foreign visitors in major Chinese cities.
Alipay+ now partners with 40 e-wallets and 11 QR networks across 100+ markets, serving 150 million merchants and 1.8 billion consumers. Deloitte estimates such solutions could cut cross-border costs by 12.5% by 2030.
Ant International also open-sourced its AI cash-flow forecasting model and launched an AIaaS platform for fintech firms. Stablecoin experiments aim to reduce FX settlement times to seconds.
Behind the scenes, blockchain and AI are reshaping global finance. As Cherry Jiang, Alipay+’s North Asia and North America GM, stated, "We’ll keep innovating with AI to help merchants capture cross-border travel opportunities."
For Ant International, cross-border travel is the proving ground for its tech ambitions—empowering tourists and merchants to transact seamlessly worldwide.
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