Alipay+ Expands Travel Offerings as Mobile Wallets Take Off

Alipay+ has announced a tourism-focused expansion of its payments and digital services offerings.

“Travel has a significant impact on local economies, and we believe that mobile wallets can be a catalyst for growth, connecting travellers and businesses in more ways than ever,” Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International, said in a Wednesday (Oct. 8) news release.

“Alipay+ aims to support the travel ecosystem with AI-powered payments and digital services to enable online and offline merchants, tourism partners, and other fintechs to create customer-centric engagements for mobile-savvy consumers.”

To that end, the company has expanded cross-border payment acceptance for Alipay+ to more than 100 markets, while also expanding its partner ecosystem to 40, representing 1.8 billion users, the release added.

The company is now also supporting new users of Bluecode in Europe, PayPay in Japan and Thailand’s KBank, letting them pay with their banking and wallet apps when traveling abroad.

The release notes that more than 6.5 million digital wallet users had used Alipay+ cross-border payments for the first time in the first half of this year.

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that 74% of travelers view digital wallets as essential to their experience, with this trend specifically pronounced among affluent and millennial travelers, with use rates at a respective 83% and 82%.

“Customers using digital wallets spend an average of $44 per visit at restaurants, more than the $33 spent by those using traditional payment methods,” PYMNTS wrote last fall. “This trend reflects a broader consumer preference for seamless, efficient payment solutions that enhance the overall travel experience.”

More recent PYMNTS Intelligence research shows that millennials and Gen X are the most active users of digital wallets for international payments, at a respective 68% and 70%, though boomers and Gen Z are close behind at 48% each.

In terms of income, 66% of Americans who make more than $100,000 a year use digital wallets for cross-border transactions, as do 54% of those making under $50,000, thus demonstrating the technology’s appeal across financial brackets.

However, only 48% of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) employ digital wallets for international transactions, with a third of non-users saying the method’s lack of industry-standard status prevents them from adopting it.

“Together, these figures sketch a picture of a consumer market that has normalized digital wallets — and a business market that hasn’t caught up,” PYMNTS wrote. “While consumers see wallets as secure and convenient as debit cards or bank transfers, many SMBs still cite security concerns or limited interoperability as reasons for staying on the sidelines.”