The number of international visitors who have used Chinese fintech Ant Group’s mobile payment services in China quadrupled over the past six months, following the launch of the International Consumer Friendly Zones programme in March that has now expanded to 70 Chinese cities.

Transaction volumes of inbound tourists using Ant-supported mobile payment services grew by sixfold between March and August 2024 year-on-year, says Cyril Han, the fintech’s president and CFO, speaking at the 2024 Inclusion Conference on the Bund.

This surge has created significant business opportunities for local merchants, Han notes, with the number of Chinese merchants regularly servicing overseas travellers through the fintech’s mobile payment solutions tripling during the same period.

Since 2019, Ant, with the support of the People’s Bank of China, has collaborated with international card networks and overseas digital wallets to drive innovation in inbound mobile payments, a collective effort known as the China Payment Facilitation Partnership.

During the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Ant introduced two mobile payment solutions for international visitors, and the number of supported international payment partners has continued to grow since then.

Through Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payment and digitalization solution operated by Ant International, international visitors can pay with their home e-wallets across China. The solution now supports 13 leading e-wallets and payment apps in Asia for use across an 80-million-strong merchant network in China, an increase from 10 payment partners in 2023.

The e-wallets and apps are AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), Kaspi.kz (Kazakhstan), MPay (Macao SAR, China), Touch ’n Go eWallet (Malaysia), Hipay (Mongolia), NayaPay (Pakistan), Changi Pay (Singapore), OCBC Digital (Singapore), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Naver Pay (South Korea), Toss Pay (South Korea), TrueMoney (Thailand) and GCash (the Philippines).

The other option allows visitors to bind major international bank cards – Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover, Diners Club International, and UnionPay International – to the Alipay app to access a rich array of local services, including shopping, dining, ride-hailing and public transportation, without needing a Chinese-mainland bank account or phone number.

The number of card networks supported on Alipay is expected to increase to seven as American Express has recently received an approval for an inbound wallet solution in China.

In addition to increased payment volumes, inbound tourists, Ant notes, are embracing value-added services available on digital wallets for a more immersive local experience.

The number of Alipay+ partner wallet users redeeming digital coupons increased by 105% quarter-on-quarter over the past six months.

Wallet partners also introduced over 160 China-travel mini-programmes to help visitors access services, such as luggage storage, power-bank rentals, massage chairs and even claw machines.