Asia United Bank (AUB) expects further boost for its HelloMoney e-wallet acceptance in Japan with the expanded merchant coverage of Alipay+.
Alipay+ recently expanded its partnership with PayPay, Japan’s top quick response (QR) payment operator. By working with local partners including PayPay, Alipay+ will now connect over three million local merchants in Japan to its global payment partners such as AUB’s HelloMoney.HelloMoneyusers can enjoy seamless and secure payment and travel experiences at even more merchants in Japan this year-end travel season and beyond.
AUB is currently the only Philippine bank that has a partnershipwith Alipay+,the cross-border mobile payment and digitalization solutions operated by Ant International.
The partnership with Alipay+ enabled AUB to become the first Philippine bank with an e-wallet that can be used for cross-border mobile payments and reach wider acceptance in Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong SAR, in addition to Japan.
HelloMoney users can simply pay via QR code in all merchants that carry the Alipay+ logo.In Japan, they can also scan the PayPay QR codes to make payments at a wide range of merchant-presented mode (MPM) stores, even if the merchants have not yet displayed Alipay+ point of sale materials. They can also look forward to special promotions during the upcoming Christmas and New Year travel peak seasons. Alipay+ will collaborate with PayPay merchants to launch a promotional campaign, which will run from December 20, 2024 to January 10, 2025.
“We welcome the continued expansion of the Alipay+ network of partners as this enables AUB to bring HelloMoney closer to more users, making mobile banking easier as well as helpingmore merchants grow their businessglobally,” said Wilfredo Rodriguez Jr., AUB executive vice president and head of Operations & Information Technology.
AUB launched HelloMoney in 2019, a year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to enable users to open an account without going to a physical branch and perform bank-to-bank fund transfers.
Now on its fifth year, HelloMoney now has a total customer base of more than six million and has expanded features that enable users to buy prepaid load, remit money through PeraPadala, pay via QR code, settle bills, withdraw via ATM, and shop online using the HelloMoney’s very own virtual Mastercard. Members of state-owned pension fund Pag-IBIG Fund can also manage their account and perform banking transactions through the Hello Pag-IBIG app.
Asia United Bank (AUB) is one of the fastest-growing publicly listed universal banks in the country. Established at the height of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, AUB is one of only two local commercial banks licensed at the time which has since thrived and expanded its operations.
It is known for its digital innovations, which started years prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic which spurred many of its competitors to embark on digital transformation. Among its digital innovations are e-wallet HelloMoney, pioneering payments via QR and the early adoption of the national QR PH code, and AUB PayMate, its all-in-one digital payment acceptance product.
Alipay+ is a suite of cross-border digital payment, marketing and digitalization solutions that help connect global merchants to consumers. Consumers enjoy seamless payment and a broad choice of deals using their preferred payment methods while travelling abroad. Small and medium-sized businesses may use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.
