Global cross-border payments provider Thunes has forged a partnership with Alipay+, a suite of cross-border payments and marketing solutions operated by Ant Group.
Ant Group, the owner and operator of Chinese digital payment platform Alipay, introduced Alipay+ to enable merchants, especially SMEs, to better serve global consumers by collaborating with global partners.
Following the collaboration, Thunes’ customers and merchants in Europe can now accept popular mobile wallets including China’s Alipay, Malaysia’s Touch ’n Go and Boost, Philippines’ GCash, South Korea’s KakaoPay and Thailand’s Rabbit LINE Pay and TrueMoney.
Merchants that work with Thunes will be able to accept mobile wallet payments during checkout. In addition, consumers can use their respective mobile wallets to pay in-store purchases in Europe, using a dedicated Point-of-Sale mobile application that supports QR-code payments.
Why partner?
“Thunes partnership with Alipay+ creates a truly global shopping experience for buyers and represents another major step in our mission to make payments borderless and inclusive,” explains Christophe Bourbier, MD at Thunes Collections. “Mobile wallets are becoming the primary payment method across Asian consumers, and with international tourism demonstrating steady recovery, we expect to see significant demand for this solution from our 100,000 merchants.”
While, Kevin Liu, country manager for France at Ant Group added: “Thunes is a strong partner for Alipay+ – the innovative solutions that enable merchants to reach users of major digital payment methods. This partnership will allow merchants to engage with shoppers through their favourite digital payment tools both online and in-store, and help speed up the digitalisation and globalisation of their business operation.”
The partnership will expand the geographical coverage of the local payment methods available via Thunes. The firm also offers alternative payment methods in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and now Asia.
MyCompañero, a European luxury retailer selling leading fashion brands such as Givenchy, Versace and Prada, is one of the first customers of Thunes to integrate the new payment experience.