Cross-border digital payment provider Alipay+ has expanded its collaboration with PayPay to broaden the latter’s merchant coverage network across Japan. By teaming up with local partners such as PayPay, Alipay+ is set to be able to connect over 3 million local merchants to the worldwide payment ecosystem, allowing businesses in the region and payment collaborators to offer visitors simplified and secure payment and travel experiences with their preferred domestic e-wallets.

The current announcement comes shortly after the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and Ant International officially introduced cross-border QR code payments. The transactions were set to occur between NBC’s Bakong payment system and Ant International’s Alipay+, a platform for cross-border mobile payments and digital solutions. The initiative intended to enable users of 12 international payment apps to make payments to over one million merchants in Cambodia by scanning KHQR codes, with the move supporting payments in Cambodia for goods and services.

Optimising payments for travellers As part of this expanded collaborative agreement, travellers leveraging Alipay+ partner apps can scan PayPay QR codes to conduct payments at a range of merchant-presented mode (MPM) stores across Japan. The solution applies also to merchants that have not yet displayed it at point-of-sale materials. In addition, travellers are set to benefit from promotions during the Christmas and New Year period.

Currently, Alipay+’s partner payment app network in Japan includes 16 e-wallets and bank applications, such as Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR China), MPay (Macao SAR China), South Korea’s Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss, Singapore’s OCBC Digital, Changi Pay and EZ-Link, Malaysia’s Touch ‘n Go eWallet and MyPB by Public Bank Berhad, the Philippines’ GCash and HelloMoney, TrueMoney (Thailand), Hipay (Mongolia), and Tinaba (Italy). Moreover, the partnership between PayPay and Alipay+ aims to allow the latter to augment payments for tourists while assisting local merchants in tapping into the scaling tourism market and advancing regional economies. When commenting on the announcement, representatives from PayPay underlined their company’s commitment to developing a connected and efficient payment ecosystem that allows local businesses to connect with international travellers.

Via secure and optimised payment solutions, the company intends to improve the travel experience for worldwide tourists and, together with Alipay+, it focuses on contributing to economic advancement across the region by equipping businesses, regardless of size, to integrate digital transactions. .