Korea Easy Payment Foundation, the official operator of ZeroPay, has introduced Alipay+ global cross-border digital payments and marketing solutions at over 1.7 million merchants across South Korea, in a move to further ensure a convenient experience for Asian tourists.
What does Alipay+ bring to South Korea?
Users of six digital payment apps including Alipay, AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR China), MPay (Macao SAR, China), TrueMoney (Thailand), and Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia) will be able to travel and shop cashless in the country, by simply scanning the ZeroPay QR placed at the merchant’s counter with their home e-wallet apps, entering the amount of payment and confirming the transaction. More Alipay+ partner e-wallets will join in the coming months.
The tie-up between Alipay+ and ZeroPay through ICB is expected to enable merchants, especially smaller ones, to offer a hassle-free payment experience for global tourists and increase their potential outreach to over 1.4 billion clients from China and Southeast Asia.
Introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, ZeroPay is South Korea’s public QR-code based digital payment service designed to help SMBs, with a transaction system that enables zero-fee settlement for merchants and digital payments through e-wallets for consumers.
Introduced by Ant Group, Alipay+ is a suite of cross-border digital payment and marketing solutions designed to enable global businesses to process a wide range of mobile payment methods and better serve regional and global consumers through simple technical adaption.
What does this mean for Korean merchants?
Danny Chung, General Manager of Ant Group in Korea, Australia and New Zealand, said, “We have been striving to enhance the convenience of seamless payment services for Asian tourists visiting South Korea by connecting Korean merchants with a variety of mobile payment methods that their customers are most familiar and comfortable with.”
“By partnering with ZeroPay, we are looking forward to driving more growth opportunities for local businesses and together playing a share to further solidify Korea’s position as one of the most popular destinations with its unique offerings and convenient experience,” Chung added.
Hanyong Lee, CEO of ICB, said, “Through providing this service, we will help to revitalize inbound travel, which was dampened by COVID-19, creating an environment where more tourists can pay with convenience in Korea. We expect that SMBs, which account for 94% of ZeroPay merchants, will pave the way in attracting foreign tourists through Alipay+.”
