Malaysia's Paynet, China's Ant Group team up for cross-border digital payments

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian payment firm Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) and Alibaba's fintech arm Ant Group on Wednesday launched their cross-border digital payments collaboration, further boosting international tourism and trade.

The duo said in a statement that effective Oct. 31, travellers with the eight Alipay+ supported wallets can expect the convenience of cashless travelling to Malaysia and make digital payments by simply scanning PayNet's DuitNow QR at its network of over 1.8 million merchants touchpoints throughout the Southeast Asian country.

The eight wallets are Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), HelloMoney by AUB (Philippines), Hipay (Mongolia), MPay (Macao SAR), Naver Pay (Japan), Toss Pay (South Korea) and TrueMoney (Thailand).

According to the statement, more Alipay+ payment partners are also in the pipeline and will progressively be enabled in Malaysia.

Additionally, the reciprocal connection to enable DuitNow QR users in Malaysia to make payments at Alipay+ global merchants is expected to gradually be in place from 2024.

It is noted that the Alipay+ merchant ecosystem currently includes tens of millions of merchants in more than 50 markets.

"With this collaboration with Ant Group, I am seeing a new Silk Road emerging; one that is powered by cross-border payment interoperability," said Farhan Ahmad, Group CEO of PayNet.

With the partnership, he said businesses in the DuitNow QR ecosystem can immediately access travelers from eight more countries or regions in an efficient, seamless and secure way, bolstering trade and commerce.

Meanwhile, Douglas Feagin, senior vice president of Ant Group and Head of Alipay+ Cross-Border Mobile Payment Services, said a recent report they commissioned found that intra-Asia cross-border travel and payments will accelerate over the next few years, with average consumer spending almost doubling from 2016-2025.

He said this growth reinforces the need to better connect local merchants with international visitors through payments, marketing and other digital services to not only enhance the travel experience, but also boost the local tourism ecosystem in Malaysia.

According to the statement, the collaboration will go beyond connectivity to encompass joint digital marketing initiatives, aiming to enhance the visibility of merchants' businesses within users' e-wallets.

Both parties will also collaborate through a marketing travel solution powered by Alipay+, for improved customer engagement, where international travelers using Alipay+ supported e-wallets can earn reward points or receive discounts and benefits at PayNet's DuitNow QR merchants' ecosystem.