Ant International has added Hang Seng Bank as a banking partner to Alipay+, its unified wallet gateway.
In a statement, the company said the Alipay+ network now includes more than 50 digital wallets and financial institutions, covering both traditional banks and digital-only providers.
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Hang Seng Bank is Alipay+’s first banking partner in Hong Kong.
Under the partnership, Hang Seng Mobile App users can make payments by scanning QR codes in the Chinese Mainland and overseas. The service is available at more than 100 million merchants across over 55 countries and regions, using the Hang Seng Mobile App.
“Through Alipay+, banks are able to quickly build new revenue streams, increase digital engagement and introduce new value-added services for users through cross-border payments”, the statement said.
Ant International linked the partnership to rising demand for outbound cross-border payments from Asia Pacific, which it said is expected to grow faster than the global average.
The company cited projections that consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and consumer-to-business (C2B) outbound cross-border payment volume from the region could reach 3.7 trillion by 2032, almost doubling from 2024.
According to Ant International, Alipay+ is accepted in more than 220 markets. The company said it connects with more than ten national QR systems, including Malaysia’s DuitNow, Thailand’s PromptPay and Uzbekistan’s HUMO.
Banks in several markets have already linked their mobile app users to Alipay+ for cross-border payments.
These include Public Bank Berhad in Malaysia, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Asia United Bank in the Philippines, OCBC in Singapore, Kasikorn Bank and Siam Commercial Bank in Thailand, and Vietcombank in Vietnam.
Ant International provides digital payments, digitisation and financial technology services.
The company recently closed a Series A equity financing round of approximately $1.2bn. It plans to use the funding to accelerate global expansion and support product development across merchant payment, account management and other financial services.
