Alipay teams with Malaysian bank for mobile wallet tech

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Ant Financial’s Alipay has formed a partnership with a large Malaysian bank, enabling the bank to advance its own mobile payments services using Alipay’s platform.

CIMB Group Holdings, Malaysia’s second-largest bank, will form a joint equity venture with Alipay to convert Touch ‘n Go, a local payment card that CIMB operates through a subsidiary, into a mobile wallet powered by Alipay’s technology, Reuters reports.

Touch 'n Go is popular with millions of Malaysians for paying for bus fares, parking, road tolls and some shopping, and through its partnership with Alipay, CIMB aims to expand the service’s reach to mobile phones, the report says.

CIMB will be the majority shareholder in the venture, which is Ant Financial’s first in Malaysia, according to the report.