Ant International, a global digital payment, and LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network, have jointly announced the launch of enabling cross-border mobile payments for Alipay+ partner users via the LANKAQR network, enhancing the connectivity between global consumers and Sri Lankan merchants.

The duo said in a statement on Thursday that Alipay+, a unified wallet gateway with cross-border payment and digitization services under Ant International, will enable 14 of its international payment partners for use across Sri Lanka.

Travellers from ten countries and regions, can simply scan the LANKAQR at more than 400,000 merchants to make payment.

The Alipay+ partners enabled for cross-border payment acceptance in Sri Lanka in the first phase include: Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), MPay (Macao SAR), Hipay (Mongolia), GCash (the Philippines), Changi Pay and OCBC Digital (Singapore), Touch ‘n Go eWallet and MyPB by Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia), Naver Pay and Toss Pay (South Korea), TrueMoney (Thailand), BigPay (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand), and Tinaba (Italy).

According to the statement, the launch of Alipay+ represents the biggest acceptance of cross-border payments in Sri Lanka, including partners from top inbound operators and potential markets such as Italy, Singapore, Malaysia and China as identified by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), and other top growth markets like South Korea and Thailand.

All these travelers will now be able to make seamless payments when they visit Sri Lanka, paying with their preferred home payment app, which not only offers added convenience to mobile-savvy customers, but also ensures more business for local merchants.

Figures from SLTDA showed steady growth in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, with visitor arrivals increasing by 38 percent in 2024, compared to the year before.

For 2025, Sri Lanka is targeting 3 million tourist arrivals and $5 billion in tourism related revenue.

“This partnership connects us with international Alipay+ partner users worldwide, enabling them to make seamless payments during their visit to Sri Lanka, similar to their experience at home,” said Channa de Silva, Chief Executive Officer of LankaPay,

According to him, this collaboration signifies the firms’ commitment to enhance payment convenience to tourists and business travelers to Sri Lanka and attract much needed foreign exchange into the country.

“Our aim is to support the country’s booming tourism sector with seamless and secure digital payments providing a greater convenience to the travellers whilst providing a cost-efficient digital payment acceptance mechanism to local merchants,” he added.

LANKAQR is a national initiative launched by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to ensure all QR code-based transactions are standardized and interoperable in Sri Lanka.

Introduced in 2020, LANKAQR network is managed and operated by LankaPay, providing a platform to connect consumers, banks and merchants into a single payment network across the country.

“The national LANKAQR infrastructure by the Sri Lanka Central Bank and LankaPay lays a strong foundation for the digitalization of local businesses and we’re proud to partner with LankaPay to enhance interoperability and connect global customers to the local payment ecosystem,” said Edward Yue, General Manager for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Ant International.

According to him, tourism will be a significant driving force in the global economy and based on trends the firm is seeing, Sri Lanka will significantly benefit, as travelers seek rich cultural, nature and unique experiences.

“Beyond payments, Alipay+ also enables merchants to reach travelers through new digital services directly within mobile apps, digitalizing key travel scenarios, opening new channels of engagements and driving even more vibrant and inclusive growth,” he added.

Ant International and LankaPay will enable more Alipay+ partner e-wallet acceptance in Sri Lanka and collaborate on joint marketing efforts, said the statement.

#AlipayPlus #LANKAQR #DigitalPayments #TourismGrowth #CashlessTravel