- Ant Group is looking to expand into the payment markets of Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America with its Alipay+ offering.
- “What we found is that people want to use their home e-wallets when they travel abroad. So, they don’t want to have to load their card into another app that they don’t know as well,” said Douglas Feagin, senior vice president of Ant Group.
- In 2020, Ant Group launched Alipay+, enabling international users to make payments in China by scanning QR codes through their home country apps and extending services to other countries through local partners.
China’s Ant Group is looking to boost its global presence via its digital offering, Alipay+, as it seeks to connect mobile payment apps around the world.
Also read: Ant eyes Europe and US for its Alipay+travel payment service
Global ambition intrigued by needs
“What we found is that people want to use their home e-wallets when they travel abroad. So, they don’t want to have to load their card into another app that they don’t know as well,” Douglas Feagin, senior vice president of Ant Group, an affiliate of Chinese tech giant Alibaba.
The group’s global arm, Ant International, introduced Alipay+ in 2020, allowing foreigners to use apps from their home countries to make payments in China by scanning QR codes of Alipay – Ant Group’s largely domestically-focused platform – and in other countries via local partners.
Also read: Alipay launches blockchain vouchers at milk tea shops in Asia
Huge opportunities
“We see a huge opportunity for expansion and the relatively broad coverage we have in Asia – we [would] like to replicate in places like the Middle East, Latam and Europe,” said Feagin. “People from all these regions are going to other regions, so a big opportunity to expand.”
Ant Group, led by its president of Ant International, had previously invested in country-specific e-wallets across Asia. However, the company aimed to expand its products globally. Initially, Ant focused on regions popular with Chinese tourists like Europe and the U.S. Now, with its Alipay+ offering, Ant seeks to capitalise on its early presence in these markets.
