KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Malaysia and Alipay+, the unified wallet gateway of Ant International, yesterday signed a MoU to accelerate cross-border commerce and digitalise merchant engagement across Malaysia’s tourism economy.
As Malaysia welcomes visitors for Visit Malaysia 2026–2027 (VM2026–2027), this partnership merges Tourism Malaysia’s destination marketing with Alipay+’s global wallet ecosystem and AI capabilities.
It aims to create a highly intelligent digital journey, connecting international travellers directly with local operators as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), strategically distributing visitor spending beyond major hubs to support the broader economic goals of VM2026–2027.
In the first half of 2026, over 600,000 merchants, primarily SMEs, received payments from Alipay+ partner wallets and bank apps, marking a year-on-year increase of over 70%. Furthermore, traveller spending via DuitNow surged by more than 60%, establishing Alipay+ as the largest contributor to inbound QR transactions nationwide.
Currently, Alipay+ connects over 2 billion user accounts with 150 million merchants across 210 destinations, and operating through major national schemes like PayNet.
Through the MoU, Tourism Malaysia and Malaysian businesses will gain direct visibility across leading global e-wallets within the Alipay+ ecosystem.
The Alipay+ Voyager AI agent will highlight verified offerings, connecting travellers with businesses beyond major tourism hubs, while personalised deals throughout the travel journey will encourage greater engagement.
