Ant Financial Services Group, the operator of Chinese mobile payment service Alipay, hopes to make it possible for users of its partner apps in Asia to make cashless payments in Japan, the company's top executive has said.
The fintech company, an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., offers its payment platform for cashless purchases to 1 billion users across Asia through tie-ups with local partners. Ant Financial has investments in these partners, which operate in nine Asian markets including Thailand, South Korea, India and Indonesia.
Alipay is one of the most popular payment apps in China and can be used at 300,000 shops in Japan — a five-fold increase from August last year.