This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 16, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd has forged a partnership with Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group, to offer Alipay mobile wallet service to its merchants.

The Alipay mobile wallet service caters particularly to Alipay users from China who travel and shop on a regular basis in Malaysia. The service provides users the convenience of making payments without carrying large amounts of cash.

Public Bank said the service may be used at all outlets of Degem Collection, Eu Yan Sang, Lazo Diamond Jewellery, L’occitane, Malindo Airways, Star Cruise, Swiss Luxury Watch & Jewelry, The Swatch Group, Vitacare Pharmacy and other merchant outlets frequented by tourists from China.

“We are very excited about the collaboration with Alipay, whose parent company, Ant Financial, is the world’s largest fintech start-up. We will roll out the Alipay service to our existing and new in-store merchants,” said Public Bank managing director Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek during the launch yesterday.

Speaking to reporters after the event, L’occitane deputy general manager Sing Loon Poh said merchants who adopt the Alipay mobile wallet service stand to “gain and have nothing to lose”, as a lower merchant fee or rate is charged compared to conventional credit-card transactions, among other benefits.

He added that out of 26 L’occitane outlets nationwide, 25 have adopted the Alipay terminal, except for its outlet at Sogo KL which uses the mall’s own payment system.

Launched in 2014, Alipay now has more than 520 million active users and over 450 financial institution partners. In China, more than 10 million brick-and-mortar merchants accept Alipay, and its in-store payment service covers over 200,000 retail stores globally. The service currently supports 19 different currencies.