Adrian JohnsonTLDR:
- Ant Group, the Chinese fintech giant, has expanded its overseas payment service, Alipay+, to cater to the needs of visa-free travellers during the Lunar New Year.
- Alipay+ now covers tens of millions of stores in Asia and Europe, including more than 100,000 stores in Thailand and Dubai, and 10,000 taxis in 12 Italian regions.
- The service expansion comes as China introduces visa-free policies for travellers from several countries and promotes tourism and business ties.
- More Chinese travellers are expected to go overseas during the Lunar New Year holiday, although the numbers are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels.
- Regulatory pressure on Ant Group appears to be easing, with founder Jack Ma’s voting rights at Alipay shrinking and the central bank confirming that the mobile payment app no longer has a controller.
Chinese fintech giant Ant Group has expanded its overseas payment service, Alipay+, to cater to visa-free travellers during the anticipated Lunar New Year travel boom. The cross-border mobile payment service now covers tens of millions of stores in Asia and Europe, including more than 100,000 stores in Thailand and Dubai. It also includes 10,000 taxis in 12 Italian regions. Alipay+ is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses accept payments from travellers using their own local electronic wallets. It currently supports 25 partner e-wallets and bank apps covering more than 88 million merchants in 57 markets. This expansion comes as China introduces new visa-free policies to promote tourism and business ties amid a sluggish economy. Travellers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia are now allowed to stay in China without a visa for 15 days, while China and Singapore will allow each other’s citizens to travel without a visa for 30 days starting on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Malaysia and Thailand have already waived visa requirements for Chinese travellers for up to 30 days. The expected increase in Chinese travellers during the Lunar New Year holiday is unlikely to reach pre-pandemic levels as the country faces economic headwinds. However, regulatory pressure on Ant Group appears to be easing, with founder Jack Ma’s voting rights at Alipay decreasing and China’s central bank confirming that the mobile payment app no longer has a controller. This development is seen as a step forward for Ant Group to resume its initial public offering, which was previously cancelled. In addition, the central bank of China and the government of Zhejiang province are preparing to grant an Ant-affiliated agency a “personal credit information collection licence,” allowing Ant Group to expand its credit business.
