Alipay+ usage in Korea posts 700% increase this year
Danny Chung, general manager of Ant Group in Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Mongolia, speaks during a press conference in central Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Anna J. Park
The monthly usage of Alipay+ transactions at offline merchants in Korea has soared by more than 700 percent from January to October this year, demonstrating the global payment service's increased availability and presence in the country.
During a press conference in Seoul on Monday hosted by Ant Group — the operator of Alipay — Danny Chung, general manager of Ant Group in Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Mongolia, attributed the surge in use of the mobile payment service to the recovery of cross-border tourism as well as the expansion of payment infrastructures to accommodate a broader scope of users.
"As the travel demand from Chinese and Southeast Asian tourists for destinations in Korea has recovered to 50 to 70 percent of the pre-COVID level, in conjunction with the payment's infrastructure improvement, offline payments through Alipay+ in Korea have increased by about 700 percent, from January to October," Chung said during the press conference.
Chung highlighted that Alipay+ services are now available in over 1.7 million merchants in Korea, including major duty free shops, department stores, convenience stores, food and beverage (F&B) businesses and transportation services. He said the partnership reached with Zeropay in September, a local payment system developed in Seoul in the late 2010s, has been one of the factors that contributed to the wider availability of Alipay+ in Korea.
The general manager of Ant Group in Korea added that trendy districts of Seoul, such as Seongsu-dong and Apgujeong-dong, are becoming more popular tourist destinations among foreign travelers than Myeong-dong and Hongdae, typically the traditional tourist spots in Seoul.
"Recently, tourists are looking for hidden gem places, such as trendy local restaurants and cafes, rather than large franchised stores. Thus, we will focus on expanding affiliation with local small and medium-sized merchants next year. The transportation system is another key focus area," Chung said, stressing the firm aims to increase its presence further next year.
He went on to say that increasing the availability of Alipay+ in Korea is becoming more important, given that Korea is a short-term destination that can be visited frequently over weekends by Chinese or Southeast Asian tourists, and they expect that their QR code payment experiences using Alipay+ can be operated smoothly during their visit to Korea, just as in their home countries.
Unlike Alipay, Alipay+ is not a mobile wallet or banking app — it is a global payment service, mainly for overseas travelers, enabling cross-border mobile payments for various e-wallet users. Eight e-wallet and banking apps, including Alipay (China), mPay (Macau), Changi Pay (Singapore) and HiPay (Mongolia), can be used by inbound foreign visitors in Korea to make payments via QR code.
In terms of outbound tourists from Korea, Alipay+ significantly strengthened its partnership with Korean e-wallet providers earlier this year, including Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay. The Korean users of the major mobile payment services can make QR code payments to global merchants of Alipay+ in dozens of countries.