Ant International has been appointed as an inaugural foreign institution partner (FIP) of China’s Cross-border Interconnection Payment Gateway (CPG), under the guidance of the People’s Bank of China and the Payment & Clearing Association of China (PCAC).
Ant International and Alipay are the largest participants in the CPG scheme, with the widest coverage, diverse use cases, and the highest business volume among partners.
The new CPG scheme is designed to enhance connection efficiency and improve system stability for overseas payment providers. Its launch opens a secure and seamless pathway for international payment partners to access the Chinese market.
Alipay+, the cross-border payment and digitization services under Ant International, will leverage this direct connection to expand its partner ecosystem and accelerate global coverage. This initiative will improve convenience and security for international travelers while enabling wallets worldwide to connect their growth networks to 80 million Alipay merchants across China.
As a unified wallet gateway, Alipay+ now collaborates with 36 e-wallets and eight national QR payment schemes worldwide, linking more than 100 million merchants to 1.8 billion consumer accounts.
Global wallets testing payments in China
As the FIP with the broadest fintech coverage in the CPG scheme, Alipay+ now supports seven major international bank card brands and enables users from twelve countries and regions to complete scan-and-pay transactions in mainland China.
Alipay+ has also established over 20 technology partnerships with e-wallets and payment networks across Asia, Europe, and beyond.
Eric Jing, Chairman of Ant Group and Ant International, and Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group, highlighted the milestone by celebrating China’s top international consumer destinations together with card and wallet partners.
Expanding partnerships with national payment schemes
Alipay+ continues to build strong partnerships with government-backed mobile payment schemes in emerging markets, supporting national agendas for digitization and financial inclusion.
Eight national QR schemes are already expanding their international presence via Alipay+, including SGQR (Singapore), PayNet DuitNow (Malaysia), ZeroPay (South Korea), Bakong (Cambodia), NCHL/FonePay (Nepal), LankaPay (Sri Lanka), QRIS (Indonesia), and HUMO (Uzbekistan).
In 2023, the Asia-Pacific region recorded USD 9.8 trillion in e-wallet transactions, representing nearly two-thirds of global volume and maintaining the highest penetration rate worldwide.
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