Ant International Announces Sustainability Framework, Serving 100 mn Merchants to Advance Inclusive Growth in Re-globalisation

The now-independent company combines techfin and sustainability work in 6T areas: travel, trade, thrive, technology, talent and trust

Company will focus on innovation and collaboration with public & private sectors across 4 business pillars: Unified global wallet gateway, unified merchant payment service, global business account service, and embedded finance service.

Singapore – Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider, today announced its Sustainability Framework in its first independent Sustainability Report.

A New Chapter of Growth with New Mission and Vision at a Critical Moment

2024 is a transformative year for Ant International, which became independent after a reorganisation of Ant Group. With headquarters in Singapore and over 30 offices around the world, Ant International provides cross-border digital payment, commerce and finance solutions to merchants and financial institutions, connecting 100 million+ merchants to global consumers across its 4 business units:

• global e-wallet gateway service (Alipay+),
• merchant payment service (Antom),
• cross-border business account service (WorldFirst), and
• embedded finance services including treasury management and credit solutions (Bettr).

In its new corporate identity, Ant International's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere, bringing small and beautiful changes to the world. Its vision is be the most innovative and trusted digital partner to bring inclusive growth to all.

The management reiterated that in the face of global economic turbulence, de-globalisation threats, and new risks of digital divide, tech companies need to enhance, not weaken their social commitments with concrete action. “The call for action on the digital tech community has never been so urgent: we need to take action to ensure innovation works for the many, not the few, so we can build a truly inclusive and sustainable global economy for the next generation,” said Eric Jing, Chairman of Ant International, in his opening message.

Yang Peng, Chief Executive Officer, and Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, said, “We firmly believe that through our sustainability and business efforts, coupled with practical technological innovation, we can actively practice and promote a new, more inclusive, and broader ‘re-globalisation’.”

6T Principle Focuses on SMEs for Inclusive Growth and Re-globalising Commerce

The Sustainability Framework is anchored on an integration of social value and business value creation across its 6T Sustainability Areas. The Report shared highlights as of 2024 in these areas:

• to enable global connections in Travel;
• to empower global commerce in Trade;
• to enable the underserved to Thrive;
• to harness Technology to drive open innovation;
• to nurture digital Talent to support local growth;
• to strengthen digital Trust for a resilient digital ecosystem.

Payment: Promoting Global Connectivity with Travel and Trade

• In travel, Alipay+ has enabled inclusive and affordable payment options globally, connecting more than 1.7 billion user accounts via partnerships with 36 e-wallets and 6 national QR schemes. Over 90% of offline Alipay+ merchants are SMEs.

• In trade, WorldFirst has enabled over 1.2 million SMEs to sell their products and services across more than 200 markets, and processed payments of cumulative transaction value of around USD 100 billion in 100+ currencies in 2024.

• In digital commerce, AI-enabled solutions help merchants reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance security. Antom Copilot, the AI payment assistant, cuts the time required for payment integration by 90%.

Beyond Payment: Democratising Technology for SMEs to Thrive

• With its Wallet Tech capabilities, Ant International has helped accelerate sustainable digital economic growth for 31 partners across 23 markets. Today, the company focuses on developing AI-powered fintech solutions to enhance growth and security for merchants and fintech partners.

In the fast-growing Embedded Finance unit,

• Falcon, a ground-breaking Time-Series Transformer (TST) FX Model, helps SMEs cope with cross-border liquidity volatility more effectively with an hourly demand prediction accuracy of over 90%.

• In 2024, AI-powered Credit Tech solutions, ANEXT Bank and Ant Bank (Hong Kong) helped extend lending and other inclusive financial services to over 15 million users in emerging markets, mostly from the SME community.

Collaboration on Trust and Talent to Drive Sustainable Growth

Ant International works to build a trust-based and future-ready digital ecosystem in collaboration with regulators, international organisations and over 1,000 financial institutions. The company invests in 2 pillars of Trust: a comprehensive, robust compliance structure, and AI-security capabilities and solutions. The company has started to share its trusted AI capabilities, such as anti-deepfake expertise, with the broader community.

Such collaboration expands to other community and global initiatives, ranging from MSME sustainability credentials and financing innovations, to joint research efforts on advancing privacy-enhancing technology to strengthen digital trust. The 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion Programme, now in its 7th year, has provided training on fintech and digital innovation to 7,157 talents across 110 countries and regions.

Earlier at the Point Zero Forum in Zurich in May 2025, global leaders and policymakers joined the soft launch event of Ant International’s inaugural Sustainability Report. Mr. Sing Chiong Leong, Deputy Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), was the guest of honour and delivered opening remarks at the event.

Ms. Nan Li Collins, Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative, who joined the event as a keynote speaker, resonated with Ant International’s commitment to bring equal access and growth opportunities for SMEs through trade. “While the digital economy is booming, developing countries still face a critical gap in essential infrastructure investment - a challenge we must address to ensure no one is left behind in the global transition to sustainable growth.”

Chen Leiming, Chief Sustainability Officer of Ant International, also commented, “Sustainability must be inclusive to be effective. At Ant International, by integrating sustainability into how we innovate, operate and grow, we ensure that every business outcome is also a step towards long-term societal progress.”

About Ant International

With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit https://www.ant-intl.com/

MESSAGES FROM LEADERSHIP

Chairman's Message

Navigating a Changing World with Purpose and Shared Prosperity

Eric Jing

Chairman, Ant International

Looking at our world in 2025, these are, indeed, times of flux. But uncertainties are not necessarily barriers, they can also catalyse more determined and collaborative action for deeper impact.

Ant International carries forward Ant Group's enduring commitment to responsible growth. We believe business values and sustainability values are deeply interconnected. Inclusive growth through digital innovation is not only about expanding access to technology, but also about creating meaningful, lasting economic, social and environmental impact that drives shared and sustained

progress for all.

Supporting small businesses, we believe, is a critical link in this endeavour. As pillars of global and local economies, small businesses face greater challenges amidst the rapid shifts in technology and global policy terrains. The call for action on the digital tech community has never been so urgent: We need to take action to ensure innovation works for the many, not the few, so we can build a truly inclusive and sustainable global economy for the next generation.

In this inaugural Sustainability Report, the Ant International management team, led by Peng, Doug and Leiming, gives our answers of detailed actions and impacts. We will continue to build bridges across markets and among people. We will expand trusted AI and digital solutions for SMEs and underserved communities. We will strengthen partnerships across public and private sectors to help build a more resilient and collaborative digital ecosystem for inclusive growth.

It all comes down to Ant International’s simple mission: to make it easy to do business anywhere, bringing small and beautiful changes to the world. In this pursuit, we are incredibly lucky to have found many strong partners and friends. You inspire and urge us on, across the tens of millions of small stores, in our joint labs, and on the countless coaching sessions for young talents of 10x1000.

Thank you. We cannot wait to carry on our journey together, to the future we shape together.

Letter from CEO and President

A New Journey of Innovation and Collaboration for Inclusive Growth

Peng Yang

CEO, Ant International

Douglas Feagin

President, Ant International

It is with an immense sense of responsibility and deep passion that we present you the very first Ant International's annual Sustainability Report. This report marks a significant milestone for us, not just as a standalone entity following the 2024 reorganisation of Ant Group, but as a testament to our unwavering commitment to building a more inclusive and sustainable global digital economy.

Although Ant International embarked on a new journey, we proudly inherit the spirit of inclusive finance that has been the bedrock of Ant Group's journey. For over two decades, Ant Group have been dedicated to extending the reach of digital financial services, believing firmly that technology can unlock opportunities for everyone, everywhere. At Ant International, our mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere and bring small and beautiful changes to the world. Our vision—to be the most innovative and trusted digital partner to bring inclusive growth to all—guides every decision we make.

Ever since 2012, our global expansion has been a reflection of our mission and vision. Through our global operations, the Ant International team is building real-world impact through innovation, inclusion and trust. Our 13-year journey has been intrinsically linked to our sustainability strategy, which we articulate through our 6Ts: Travel, Trade, Thrive, Tech, Talent and Trust.

Travel: Enabling Global Connections

Our Alipay+ global wallet gateway stands as a powerful example of how we facilitate global connectivity. By linking 1.7 billion mobile payment users with over 100 million merchants across more than 70 markets, and through inclusive payment and digital connectivity, we help merchants to embrace international travellers and foster increased international exchange and prosperity, making global travel and commerce smoother and more accessible.

Trade: Empowering Global Commerce

Through Antom's unified merchant payment and WorldFirst's unified global account digital solutions, we empower millions of merchants to expand their businesses worldwide. These solutions provide unparalleled market coverage and financial convenience, simplifying complex cross-border transactions and enabling businesses of all sizes to realise their full potential on a global scale.

Thrive: Serving the Underserved

We leverage our cutting-edge AI and risk management technologies to work with partners in providing more inclusive lending and foreign exchange service for the underserved across Asia and beyond. In 2024 alone, we helped over 15 million users in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam to gain access to unsecured credit, and we developed the world's best AI transformer model to provide-cutting edge AI FX solutions to serve millions of SMEs. Our goal is to empower SMEs globally, helping them to overcome barriers and thrive anywhere.

Technology: Open Innovation

We are not only active in driving fintech innovations within our own operations, but also committed to opening up our technologies to empower partners. This collaborative approach drives fintech innovation across various regions. As of 2024, 31 partners in over 23 markets have engaged with us in technology collaborations spanning wallet technology, payment technology, risk management technology and credit technology. These shared expertise fuels a more vibrant and interconnected global digital ecosystem.

Talent: Investing in Local Growth

No matter how AI will develop, our future and hope depends on people. We are dedicated to nurturing the next generation of leaders and fostering local talent growth in every market where we operate. This year marks the 7th anniversary of “10x1000 Tech for Inclusion” programme, which has engaged over 7,000 digital talents and tech leaders from more than 100 countries since 2018. Furthermore, our commitment to global business talent localisation is evident—where local talent is over 90% at our Malaysia Digital Business Centre and over 80% at our global headquarters in Singapore— ensuring that our teams truly reflect the diverse communities we serve.

Trust: Foundation of Everything

Trust is essential to everything we do, and indeed, of the entire payment and financial industry. We are unwavering in our commitment to openness, transparency and technological innovation to ensure the reliability and trustworthiness of our own operations. Moreover, we actively work to help our partners enhance their security standards, building a global network founded on integrity and confidence.

In an era marked by geopolitical shifts and the rising tide of deglobalisation, we recognise the challenges and complexities that lie ahead. However, we firmly believe that through our sustainability and business efforts, coupled with practical technological innovation, we can actively practice and promote a new, more inclusive, and broader "Re-globalisation”. This means leveraging digital connectivity to bridge divides and empower SMEs to have equal access and opportunities to benefit from a truly interconnected and prosperous global economy, a privilege not only reserved for a few. This journey would not be possible without the incredible support and collaboration of our partners around the world. Your trust and belief in our mission fuel our innovation and drive our impact. We also extend our deepest gratitude to the dedicated and passionate Ant International team. Your tireless efforts, ingenuity and unwavering commitment to our users are the true engine of our success.

As we look to the future, we will continue to stay true to our original aspiration: to build a world where digital payment and digital finance are accessible and inclusive to all, fostering sustainable growth and creating a more equitable future. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and invite you to join us on this transformative journey.

Letter from CSO

A Brighter Future for All: Collaborative Pathways to Inclusive Sustainability

Leiming Chen

Chief Sustainability Officer, Ant International

Ant International sees sustainability as a catalyst for innovation, resilience and long-term business success. At Ant International, by integrating sustainability into how we innovate, operate and grow, we ensure that every business outcome is also a step towards long-term societal progress.

Since the past decade, Ant International has been driving inclusive growth through international cooperation and open partnerships in our “4Ts” pillars: Travel, Trade, Technology and Talents. After Ant Group announced Ant International as an independent unit in March 2024, the first request from our new board of directors was to rethink the values and future direction for our key stakeholders. Through an intensive mapping exercise involving our key management members and employees, we came up with a brand-new sustainability framework which is more tailored and comprehensive to deepen our sustainability impact—by driving real-work impact through four pillars and 6Ts.

Sustainability must be inclusive to be effective, and access to opportunity should not be a privilege. Given the increasing complexities of sustainability, from taxonomy and governance frameworks to costs and resources required, collective effort is required across the public and private sectors, industries and markets to drive sustainability competencies and mindsets so that no SME is left behind in the green and digital transition.

In this new digital era, stakeholders expect measurable progress, not only ambition. Transparency and accountability are critical to building their trust. Our four-tiered sustainability governance framework ensures that sustainability is embedded at every level, from the boardroom to the business units. We are committed to honest communication, ongoing learning and evolving with the expectations of our partners, users and regulators.

This report marks an important milestone in our sustainability journey. The road ahead is long, and our work is far from done. As we scale our impact, we will continue to innovate with purpose, collaborate with openness and lead with integrity. Because for us, sustainability is not just about responsibility, but also about creating a future where digital progress uplifts everyone and leaves no one behind.