Alipay+ and e-wallet partners promote sustainable travel with new global campaign

Alipay+, a cross-border mobile payment digital platform under Ant International, has unveiled a year-end campaign to promote sustainable cross-border travel with a series of incentives offered to users by global partners of five e-wallets in Asia.

The e-wallets include Alipay (mainland China), AlipayHK (Hong Kong), Touch ’n Go eWallet by TNG Digital (Malaysia), GCash (Philippines) and TrueMoney (Thailand). The campaign is available until 31 December and will be launched in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

As part of the campaign, travellers will enjoy an array of special offers curated in collaboration with brands, including ComfortDelGro Taxi, Daimaru Matsuzakaya, Galaxy Macau, King Power, and Lotte Duty Free, as well as local small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs), including Durian BB in Malaysia and IJOOZ in Singapore, aiming to create a diverse and inclusive selection for travellers.

While Ant International is dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism across its Alipay+ markets through an ESG programme aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the campaign features special offers from Alipay+ and partners to encourage sustainable travel behaviour, such as free overseas mobile data packages, in-app discounts across Alipay+’s extensive merchant network, and opportunities to win 100% rebates at partner stores.

Travellers are also rewarded for using more digital payments instead of cash, choosing public transportation over cars, travelling with their own toothbrushes instead of using disposable ones, as well as visiting more diverse local destinations to support communities’ economies and preserve local cultures.

To monitor the ESG impact of the campaign, Alipay+ will collaborate with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and an advisory group consisting of experts from Tsinghua University, Hong Kong University, University of Geneva University and Northwestern University to measure travellers’ carbon footprint reduction, the impact on local businesses, culture and communities, as well as the impact on business best practices in the ecosystem.

Digital payment increases international tourism revenue for local SMEs, according to Alipay+. In 2023, while Alipay expanded cooperation with major international card organisations to facilitate foreign cardholders visiting China, Alipay+ brought 10 Asian e-wallets and banking apps into the Chinese mainland to serve their travelling users. As a result, in 2023, over three million merchants in China closed their first international transactions on Alipay+. 

With travel booming between the southern part of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, a total of 220 merchants in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province also joined the year-end promotion campaign to attract AlipayHK and mPay (Macau) users with discount packages worth as much as HK$14,000.

Cherry Huang, general manager of Alipay+ offline merchant services, Ant International, said: “Our year-end campaign is not just about travel; it’s about making a positive impact. By collaborating with partners who share our commitment to sustainability, we are offering travellers the chance to explore the world responsibly.”

Alan Ni, CEO of TNG Digital, said: “Tourism is an important contributor to the local economy, and TNG Digital is committed to making a positive difference with our product and services, especially to encourage sustainable travel. Touch ’n Go eWallet cross-border payments in the Chinese mainland have grown by more than 100% month-on-month in 2023. With that, we are hopeful that with our small gesture, we can create a path for others to follow.”

Bruce Zhang, CEO of IJOOZ, a juice vending machine provider in Singapore, said: “Every year, IJOOZ generates huge amounts of orange pulps and peels. We recycle orange waste, turning it into valuable resources for making new products. We are happy to join hands with Alipay+ to promote sustainable travel among global tourists visiting Singapore.”

According to the company, AlipayHK, Kakao Pay, Touch ’n Go eWallet and GCash are among the top four most popular Alipay+ partner wallets used by cross-border travellers in 2023, aside from Alipay itself. Touch ’n Go eWallet, mPay and TrueMoney are ranked top three based on month-on-month (MoM) increase of transaction volume in November 2023. As a result, merchants in the Chinese mainland, Macao SAR, Japan, South Korea and Singapore benefited the most from the surge in cross-border mobile payment.

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