Alipay+ has announced that it will start to work with Starbucks Korea to enhance the brand experience for international tourists visiting Korea through promotional benefits and incentives.

Starbucks Korea will provide exclusive benefits to Alipay+ partner e-wallets’ users throughout the year of 2024, according to a marketing agreement signed by the two sides.

The partnership will enable Starbucks Korea to reach and engage existing and prospective customers across the world more efficiently and easily. In early 2018, Alipay was introduced to Starbucks stores in Korea to enable convenient payments for Alipay users. Through an expanded partnership in 2022, the network scope was expanded to include all Alipay+ e-wallet partners’ users worldwide.

Overseas tourists in Korea increase in 2023 to over 11 million

Powered by Alipay+ solutions, consumers will be able use their local e-wallets to make payments in all 1,916 Starbucks stores across Korea. This includes users of eight mobile payment providers partnered with Alipay+, including Alipay (Chinese Mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), MPay (Macao SAR), TrueMoney (Thailand), Touch ’n Go (Malaysia), OCBC, Changi Pay (Singapore) and HiPay (Mongolia).

Special programs which have been created to match an expected surge in foreign tourists to Korea include the Summer Campaign and Golden Week, as well as local holidays such as Black Friday and New Year, according to the agreement.

Overseas tourists in Korea increase in 2023 to over 11 million, which is 63% of pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019.

Hyung Kwon Chung, General Manager of Alipay+ Korea, Europe, Middle East and Mongolia, Ant International, added: “We are excited to expand our partnership to active promotions and marketing in line with the continued rapid increase in foreign tourists to Korea. The collaboration with Starbucks will not only enhance payment convenience, but also enrich the travel experiences of global customers. We also expect this marketing campaign will boost favorable and continued engagement between Starbucks and its customers and lead to a surge in Alipay+ payments at Starbucks.”