Ant International Plans to Expand Alipay+ to Indonesia

Alipay+ enables local businesses, such as MSMEs, to process mobile payment methods, including cross-border payments.

MEDIANA

Minister of Communication and Information, Budi Arie Setiadi, and CEO of Ant International, Peng Yang, held a closed-door meeting at the office of the Ministry of Communication and Information on Friday (April 19, 2024) in Jakarta.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS  —  Ant Group, the company that owns the digital payment service Alipay, announced that it will expand its cross-border payment service called Alipay+ to Indonesia. Currently, Ant Group is taking care of all the requirements according to Bank Indonesia regulations and the need to collaborate with local partners so that Alipay+ can be quickly used in Indonesia.

Ant International CEO Peng Yang conveyed this after meeting with the Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Budi Arie Setiadi, Friday (19/4/2024), in Jakarta. ”We need instructions from Bank Indonesia to operate Alipay+, a cross-border payment solution. So far, discussions have gone smoothly. "We hope that the whole process can be fast so that we can bring many international electronic wallets, such as from China, Japan, South Korea and other ASEAN region countries, to Indonesia," he said.

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In 2020, Alipay introduced Alipay+. Alipay+ enables local businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to process mobile payment methods, including cross-border payments. Alipay+ has become a partner of a number of large-scale financial technology companies in a number of countries. In Asia, for example, Alipay+ partners with TouchNGo (Malaysia), TrueMoney (Thailand), and Kakao Pay (South Korea).

ANTONIUS TOMY TRINUGROHO

The logo of China's pioneering digital payment company, Alipay, is seen outside the office block of its parent company, Ant Group, in Shanghai on November 4, 2020.

The initial spirit of Alipay+ was to help local MSME owners process cross-border payments. According to Yang, this spirit will also be applied when Alipay+ is present in Indonesia.

According to him, many foreign tourists visit Indonesia. Most of them come and transact with credit cards. Luxury hotels and shopping centers in Indonesia can easily process credit card transactions, unlike SMEs, especially micro-scale ones.

The widespread use of Quick Response (QR) payment codes in Indonesia is seen as a great help for micro-scale entrepreneurs, according to Yang. The Alipay+ technology also enables payment via QR code. Yang is optimistic that micro entrepreneurs in Indonesia will benefit from the presence of Alipay+.

"We hope that the entire process (fulfilling requirements according to Indonesian regulations and local partnerships) can be fast so that Alipay+ can be launched in Indonesia this year," said Yang.

Alipay+ currently, called Yang, operates in 56 countries. The number of merchants reached around 19 million units.

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MUHAMMAD SAMSUL HADI

Customers make payments using WeChat payment codes on their smartphones, with Alipay payment codes beside them, at a traditional market in Beijing on November 3, 2020.

So far, Ant International's financial technology has been used by several technology companies providing digital financial and banking services in Indonesia, such as Dana, Bank Mandiri, and Gojek.

Apart from discussing Alipay+, Yang said that Ant International had agreed on several collaborations with the Ministry of Communication and Information. One of the things he explained was the joint lab.

”We have technology that makes it easier for SMEs to utilize digital payment technology, accept payments across national borders more smoothly, while maintaining the privacy of personal data, and address the fraud that arises in the era of artificial intelligence. "So, the joint lab can be a safeguard that helps them to excel in doing business in the digital market," he said.

Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie Setiadi said, apart from the joint lab which is expected to be quickly realized in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, there are still two other forms of collaboration agreed with Ant International. First, digital talent scholarships and digital talent academies. According to the plan, this collaboration is intended for Indonesian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The aim is to accelerate the capacity of MSMEs.

"Next is the collaboration in data governance. We acknowledge the importance of the digital economy. Ant International is willing to collaborate in accelerating digital payments and finance," said Budi.

However, Budi did not mention details when the three collaborations would be realized. He only said that the follow-up would be as soon as possible.

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