Ant Group, the operator of Alipay+, a global cross-border digital payments and marketing solution, has announced that four mobile wallets are now accepted in Thailand. These include AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), and Alipay (Chinese mainland), which has been accepted by Thai merchants since 2015.
This development, enabled through Alipay+, expands the seamless digital travel experience for Asian tourists visiting Thailand, as the local tourism industry rapidly rebounds. In addition to the mobile wallets already accepted, Ant Group has also unveiled new collaborations with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to promote the Amazing Thailand campaign and stimulate travel in the country.
Through these partnerships, Ant Group aims to facilitate purchases and transactions made by mobile wallets familiar to tourists, while also providing digital solutions to local businesses. These solutions include digitalizing service operations, enhancing digital marketing efficiency, and improving customer experiences. Local merchants can leverage the Alipay+ D-store™ to create digital stores in the form of mini-programs, enabling them to reach and engage tourists effectively throughout their journey, from pre-trip to post-trip.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of TAT, expressed excitement about expanding the reach through Alipay+ to tourists from three more Asian countries and regions, which are significant source locations for Thailand. He also welcomed Ant Group’s efforts to contribute to the digitalization of the tourism industry and enhance collaborations with local merchants, leading to revenue growth opportunities for businesses.
Thai Airways, Thailand’s flag carrier, has become one of the first airlines to integrate Alipay+ as a payment method. Users of all four mobile wallets can seamlessly pay for flight tickets using their wallets and benefit from competitive foreign exchange rates.
Dr. Cherry Huang, General Manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services at Ant Group, believes that accepting more Asian mobile wallets in Thailand will enhance the travel experience and promote Thailand as an attractive and sustainable destination. She emphasized the focus on onboarding more local merchants, including those in lesser-known areas, and helping them grow with added digital solutions and capabilities.
The Ministry of Commerce has reported a significant surge in new registrations of tourism-related businesses in Thailand, with the number of new registrations doubling year-on-year during the first four months of 2023.
Introduced by Ant Group in 2020, Alipay+ aims to enable local businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, to process a wide range of mobile payment methods and reach 1 billion regional and global consumers through one-time integration and simple technical adaptation. Apart from Thailand, Alipay+ is widely accepted in destinations such as the Chinese mainland, Macao SAR, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and others.
31 May 2023
