Jaehyun Yoo, Country Manager of Alipay+ Korea (left) and Park Jae-hyeon, CEO of eBridge (right) signed a strategic MOU to enhance travel convenience for international tourists

Seoul — Alipay+, a global wallet gateway service operated by Ant International, and eBridge, an airport service connection platform, signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Jung-gu, Seoul, on September 15, aimed at enhancing travel experience and satisfaction of international visitors to Korea. Under this agreement, the two parties will collaborate across sectors where global travelers can experience quality services such as airport and city transportation, airport lounge services and cross-border payment solutions.

eBridge operates K-airport limousine connecting major Seoul hubs frequented by international tourists, such as Gwanghwamun, Namsan, Dongdaemun, Gangnam and COEX with Incheon International Airport, and it will be the first airport bus operator to introduce Alipay+, starting on October 15. Through this initiative, tourists from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and other regions using Alipay+'s partner e-wallets and bank apps will be able to make payments with their preferred apps when travelling to the airport and city centre.

Additionally, efforts are underway to enhance payment experience within the airport, encompassing various airport services such as duty-free shops, hotels, dining and roaming services. To enable foreign tourists to use these services more conveniently, information provision and promotional benefits will be offered.

Furthermore, eBridge will expand its airport lounge services, which have mainly been offered to around 200 domestic and overseas partnered premium credit card holders, to international users of Alipay+'s mobile payment apps. To achieve this, Alipay+ and eBridge are jointly developing a dedicated mini program for lounge reservations. In the near future, these users will be able to conveniently book and enjoy access to eBridge’s The Lounge facilities worldwide through this mini program.

The Lounge mini program will be connected to Alipay+ Voyager, an AI travel agent integrated into digital wallets, to assist travellers to complete itinerary planning, booking, and purchasing in-destination merchant offerings. This mini program will expand services to provide information about airport lounges across the world and enabling immediate reservation. Through this, it aims to create a comprehensive ecosystem that combines payment solutions with travel services to deliver an enriched customer experience.

Both companies reaffirmed their commitment to delivering meaningful benefits that international visitors can directly experience.

Park Jae-hyeon, CEO of eBridge, stated, “Through this MOU, we want to provide tourists visiting Korea with an enhanced travel experience. Furthermore, by collaborating with Alipay+, eBridge seeks to expand its business reach into the global market.”

Jaehyun Yoo, Country Manager of Alipay+ Korea, stated: “Through this business agreement, international travellers can now experience more convenient and higher-quality services starting from the airport where they first arrive when visiting Korea. We will continue to work closely with our partners to remove barriers throughout the journey and set new standards for travel convenience.”

In South Korea, Alipay+ now supports 17 e-wallets and bank apps from Asia and Europe, connecting international travellers with over 2 million merchants across the country, with growing adoption across shopping, transportation, dining, and other key traveller touchpoints.

About Alipay+

Ant International's Alipay+ is a unified wallet gateway with cross-border payment and digitisation services that help connect global merchants to consumers. Consumers enjoy seamless payments a broad choice of deals and the convenience of digital services using their preferred payment app/e-wallet while travelling abroad. Many small and medium-sized businesses already use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.