National Payment Corp. of Vietnam (NAPAS) and Ant Financial Services have signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership extending acceptance of Ant’s
Alipay and NAPAS, Vietnam’s national switching and clearing company, will work with the State Bank of Vietnam on an integration with the initial goal of enabling Chinese tourists to use Alipay for purchases when traveling in Vietnam, the organizations said in a Tuesday press release.
Eventually Ant Financial hopes to enable Vietnamese consumers to use payment cards issued by NAPAS member banks to shop on e-commerce sites and platforms operated by Alibaba Group, including AliExpress and Taobao, the release noted. Ant Financial is Alibaba's payments affiliate.
“We look forward to working closely with NAPAS in bringing Alipay to Chinese tourists in Vietnam and connecting local merchants with Alipay users,” said Eric Jong, Ant Financial’s CEO, in the press release.
“The collaboration with Alipay is part of our strategy to expand international cooperation and to explore new payment solutions, allowing for a better connection between the banks, the merchants and service providers, and consumers,” added Nguyen Tu Anh, NAPA’s chairwoman.
Alipay has been steadily expanding the reach of its mobile wallet over the last two years so that Chinese travelers can pay with their existing payment method when traveling to tourist destinations around the world.
