Malaysia key market for Alipay, now has over 18,000 merchants

Malaysia is the 9th largest market worldwide for Chinese tourists for overseas spending as recorded by Alipay, a mobile and online payment platform offered by Ant Financial, an affiliate company of Alibaba Group. The transactions, which was recorded during the May Day holiday period, also saw Malaysia beating more developed markets like the United States.

The three-day annual holiday, celebrated in China, saw Alipay process five times as many in-store transactions overseas than 2017. Despite only being introduced to Malaysia in May last year, the country made its mark by becoming one of the top ten countries for transactional volume recorded, with an average per-capita spend of RMB1021.18 (RM635.97).

Beyond that, those born in the 1980s and 1990s account for 85% of all Alipay usage overseas, with American-style fast food chains, Hong Kong-style cafes, and coffee shops processing the most number of Alipay transactions amongst eating establishments.

Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is one of the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform. Launched in 2004, it currently has over 520 million active users and over 200 domestic financial institution partners. With Alipay, users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app. Outisde China, Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay currently supports 27 currencies.

Active in the local Malaysian e-wallet industry since its introduction, Alipay is now accepted in over 18,000 merchants nationwide, spanning all merchants operating within Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2, all Eraman, 7-Eleven, and Starbucks stores in Malaysia, and various businesses across Resorts World Genting. Thousands of taxis also accept Alipay thanks to its partnership with e-hailing app EzCab.

The nascent e-wallet industry in Malaysia is anticipated to grow this year, with increased utilisation of e-wallets and QR codes accelerating cashless payments.

“Malaysia presents an exciting opportunity for our network, as more and more Chinese travellers opt to travel to the country for a holiday. With the recent findings by Nielsen stating that over 90% of Chinese tourists preferring to make payments via mobile, it is important for us to establish our presence in Malaysia. This will provide the Chinese travellers the same smart lifestyle they enjoy back home, while bolstering local businesses from the boom in Chinese tourists arrivals,” said Cherry Huang, General Manager, Cross-border Business for South and Southeast Asia, Alipay.