Ant Group continue to support its local partners in Thailand to develop inclusive financial services i.e cross-border payment solution, virtual bank etc. for local consumers and business communities. However, the company is mainly focusing on cross-border payment solution in the Thai market, said general manager for global merchant partnership of Thailand Ant Group, Sittipong Kittiprapapong.
Ant Group partners with South Korea-based Kakao Pay Corp offering payment service in the Thai market. Kakao Pay and KakaoBank are two seperate business identities.
Meanwhile, KakaoBank, the largest digital bank in South Korea, collaborates with SCB X, which is the Thai financial technology conglomerate and holding company of Siam Commercial Bank, set up a consortium to apply for the virtual bank license from the Bank of Thailand.
SCB X plans to hold the majority of shares, with KakaoBank holding at least 20%.
There is a plan to attract additional partners to participate in the consortium. However, Mr Sittipong declined to answer whether Ant Group would join the consortium as he is not in a position to answer.
Ant Group, the owner and operator of Alipay+, recently announced four mobile wallets are now accepted in Thailand: AlipayHK (Hong Kong), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Touch 'n Go eWallet (Malaysia) and Alipay (Chinese mainland).
He said the Bank of Thailand approved AlipayHK, Kakao Pay and Touch 'n Go eWallet, which are partners of Alipay+, offering cross-border payment solutions in Thailand.
The addition of three mobile wallets will expand seamless digital travel for Asian tourists visiting Thailand as the tourism industry rebounds, said Mr Sittipong.
In addition, 10 offshore mobile wallets, in partnership with Alipay+, plan to apply for a licence from the Bank of Thailand, he said.
"The 10 digital wallet providers come from Asia and Europe, such as the Philippines and South Korea," said Mr Sittipong.
"The high growth potential of Thailand's tourism is a key factor attracting the foreign business operators."
Alipay+ also focuses on individual payments at educational institutions and hospitals.
Krungthai Card Plc (KTC) partnered with Ant Group to integrate Alipay+, enabling merchants in Thailand to accept payments.
"KTC and Ant Group have been partners since 2015. The partnership began with the Alipay payment service [for Chinese citizens] and we recently expanded through Alipay+, which will allow merchants to accept a wider range of digital payments via a variety of mobile wallets with convenience and security," said Naowarat Keratikasemsook, head of merchant acquiring business at KTC.
With the collaboration, KTC expects the payment volume of merchant partners to increase to 100 billion baht at the end of this year, up from 40 billion in the first five months, she said.
In addition to payments, Alipay+ also provides marketing solutions to help merchants reach and engage with consumers.
For example, KTC member merchants who use Alipay+ are eligible to participate in the "Alipay+ Scan for Offer" promotion, while Alipay+ mobile wallet customers can access discounts that will in turn increase selling opportunities for merchants, said Ms Naowarat.
Introduced by Ant Group in 2020, Alipay+ aims to enable local businesses to process a wide range of mobile payment methods and reach 1 billion regional and global consumers, through one-time integration and simple technical adaptation.