Seoul -- Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions, operated by Ant International, announced that it will start to work with Starbucks Korea to enhance the brand experience for international tourists visiting Korea through promotional benefits and incentives.
Starbucks Korea will provide exclusive benefits to Alipay+ partner e-wallets’ users throughout the year of 2024, according to a marketing agreement signed by the two sides.
The partnership will enable Starbucks Korea to reach and engage existing and prospective customers across the world more efficiently and easily. During their sojourn in Korea, users of Alipay+ e-wallet partners Alipay (Chinese Mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), TrueMoney (Thailand), Touch ‘n Go (Malaysia) and GCash (Philippines) will be able to enjoy exclusive offers, receiving instant discount promotions such as a maximum of 10% (Jeju 5%) off the retail price or a RMB 20 (Alipay) or maximum KRW 5,000 (Alipay+ wallet) discount amount, depending on the campaign and product price.
In early 2018, Alipay was introduced to Starbucks stores in Korea to enable convenient payments for Alipay users. Through an expanded partnership in 2022, the network scope was expanded to include all Alipay+ e-wallet partners’ users worldwide.
Powered by Alipay+ solutions, consumers will be able use their local e-wallets to make payments in all 1,916 Starbucks stores across Korea. This includes users of eight mobile payment providers partnered with Alipay+, including Alipay (Chinese Mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), MPay (Macao SAR), TrueMoney (Thailand), Touch ’n Go (Malaysia), OCBC, Changi Pay (Singapore) and HiPay (Mongolia).
Special programs which have been created to match an expected surge in foreign tourists to Korea include the Summer Campaign (1 July to 31 August) and Golden Week Campaign (25 September to 31 October), as well as local holidays such as Black Friday and New Year, according to the agreement.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of overseas tourists to Korea saw a marked increase in 2023 to over 11 million, which is 63 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019. In line with the continued rebound of inbound foreign tourists to Korea, global cross-border payments leader Alipay+ is committed to providing them a convenient, familiar and enjoyable payment environment that will enhance their overall experience in Korea.
“Through this collaboration, I am happy to introduce Starbucks Korea's food and beverage and various goods to Alipay+ users visiting Korea with good benefits. In the future, we will continue to cooperate with Alipay+ to provide various benefits to overseas tourists visiting Starbucks Korea,” said Bumsoo Kim, Chief Marketing Officer of Starbucks Korea.
“We are excited to expand our partnership to active promotions and marketing in line with the continued rapid increase in foreign tourists to Korea. The collaboration with Starbucks will not only enhance payment convenience, but also enrich the travel experiences of global customers,” remarked Hyung Kwon (Danny) Chung, General Manager of Alipay+ Korea, Europe, Middle East and Mongolia, Ant International. “We also expect this marketing campaign will boost favorable and continued engagement between Starbucks and its customers and lead to a surge in Alipay+ payments at Starbucks.”
Alipay+ connects over 88 million merchants in 57 countries and regions to 1.5 billion users of more than 25 mobile payment providers, including 1.7 million merchants across Korea. In terms of transaction volume in 2023, AlipayHK, Kakao Pay, Touch ’n Go eWallet and GCash are among the Top Four most popular Alipay+ partner wallets used by cross-border travelers, aside from Alipay itself.
About Alipay+
Alipay+ is a suite of cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions that help connect global merchants to consumers. Consumers enjoy seamless payment and a broad choice of deals using their preferred payment methods while travelling abroad. Small and medium-sized businesses may use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.
About Ant International
Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International powers the future of global commerce with digital innovation for everyone and every business to thrive. In close collaboration with partners, we support merchants of all sizes worldwide to realize their growth aspirations through a comprehensive range of tech-driven digital payment and financial services solutions.
