Ant Group, the Chinese financial technology company and Alibaba affiliate, confirmed in May 2024 that it is accelerating the international expansion of Alipay+, its cross-border payments and merchant marketing platform, with a push into European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern markets.
Alipay+ functions as a cross-border payment aggregation service, connecting overseas merchants with mobile wallet applications originating in markets across Asia. The platform allows international travellers to use their home country payment apps at partner merchants abroad.
INVESTMENTS IN 2C2P AND KAKAO PAY
Ant Group acquired a stake in Singapore-based payment processor 2C2P in 2022. An earlier investment in South Korea's Kakao Pay was made in 2017.
Douglas Feagin, president of Ant Group's international business, pointed to Singapore and South Korea as markets where further growth potential remains, noting that mobile payment penetration in those countries, while advanced by global standards, is still less universal in daily life than in mainland China.
DOMESTIC RESTRUCTURING
Domestically, Ant Group has undergone restructuring following a regulatory review by Chinese authorities that commenced in late 2020, which led to the suspension of the company's planned initial public offering. The company has since reorganised its financial services business lines, strengthened the capital bases of its consumer lending units, and has been restructuring into a financial holding company under central bank supervision.