Alipay+ kicks off major expansion around Asian Games, betting on inbound tourists

Just months after its monopoly status in Malaysia underwent review, Touch ‘n Go (TNG) has set its sights on another avenue of growth: China.

Speaking to reporters in Hangzhou last week, TNG Digital CEO Alan Ni drummed up the e-wallet’s performance in the months since it became part of the Alipay+-in-China (A+China) program, which made it available for use by Malaysians visiting the country. TNG Digital, a joint venture between TNG and Ant International, operates the TNG e-wallet.

Photo credit: Ant Group

“Growth has not slowed down … it’s doubling every month,” Ni said. He added that growth has been “purely organic,” without TNG doing any promotions.

TNG is not the only Asia-based mobile app that’s leaning on Ant Group for growth. In the past two years, the Chinese fintech titan has courted over 20 mobile payment partners across the region as it strings together joint ventures, past investments, and new partners to form a global web of consumers and merchants.

That culminated in an expansion of A+China last week, just as tens of thousands of athletes, delegates, and fans descended on Hangzhou – also Ant Group’s headquarters – for the 19th Asian Games.

Attendees of the quadrennial sporting event will find it easier to pay in China.

Visitors from Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Mongolia, and Thailand can transact with tens of millions of merchants in China directly via 10 domestic e-wallets or bank apps including OCBC, Naver Pay, and TrueMoney.

As part of the program, tourists can also link their international Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club, or Discover cards to an international version of the Alipay app.

Small and medium-sized businesses, for whom the costs of enabling digital payments could be prohibitive, can also accept digital payments through QR codes from overseas users of Alipay+ partner e-wallets.

“We handle over 200 payment methods for Lazada … but if you’re a mom and pop shop selling durians or pancakes, how can you afford to have the same tech infrastructure like Lazada? Alipay+ is exactly how we do that,” explains Venetia Lee, general manager for Greater China at Ant International.

Using Alipay+, a brand can also directly offer marketing promotions to overseas users of Alipay’s e-wallet partners before they even step foot in the country via the partner apps.

Changing the way foreigners pay

The expansion of the A+China program tackles the biggest challenge plaguing foreigners in the country: limited access to mobile payments in the world’s largest cashless economy.

A version of the Alipay International app introduced in 2019 allowed tourists to use international credit or debit cards in China, but only to purchase prepaid cards that could then be linked to the Alipay app to make transactions.

Boosting transaction volumes

Inter-ASEAN payment links a plus