Ant International’s Alipay+ and Resorts World Sentosa sign MOU for expanded partnership (L) Cherry Huang, General Manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services, Ant International; (R) Chang Chee Pey, Senior Vice President and Chief Experience Officer, RWS
SINGAPORE - More tourists visiting Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will now be able to pay seamlessly with their home e-wallets, through an expanded partnership between RWS and Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payments and marketing platform by Ant International. RWS is amongst the first of Alipay+ merchants in Singapore to accept 12 international e-wallets, which can be used at all its attractions and stores. The e-wallets include AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), GCash (Philippines), Kakao pay (South Korea), Touch n’ Go eWallet (Malaysia), TrueMoney (Thailand) and others, in addition to Alipay (Chinese mainland), which has been accepted by RWS since 2015.
The six new e-wallets recently enabled by Alipay+ in Singapore and can also be used in RWS are: Hipay (Mongolia), MPay (Macao SAR, China), MyPB by Public Bank (Malaysia), Toss Pay and Naver Pay (South Korea), and Tinaba (Italy).
The tourism sector in Singapore is expected to continue its growth in 2024. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, visitor arrivals in the first 11 months of 2023 was already double that of the same period in 2022. Tourists from the Chinese mainland, Malaysia, Philippines and South Korea are amongst the top 10 in visitor arrivals. In addition, the visa-free policy between Singapore and China, which starts on 9 February, ahead of Chinese New Year, will facilitate greater ease of entry for Chinese tourists.
This partnership to accept more Alipay+ partner payment apps, will better welcome Chinese and Asian tourists enabling them to have a more seamless, enjoyable experience at RWS. Already one of Singapore’s favourite tourist destinations, RWS is home to world-class attractions including Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium, Dolphin Island and Adventure Cove Waterpark. In addition, RWS offers award-winning dining experiences and exciting cuisines from around the world helmed by celebrity chefs, and has establishined itself as a key player in Singapore’s vibrant and diverse dining scene and is a leading gourmet destination in Asia for epicureans.
RWS is home to world-class attractions including the S.E.A. Aquarium
Chang Chee Pey, Senior Vice President and Chief Experience Officer, RWS, shared “Chinese visitors are an important source market for Resorts World Sentosa. With increased flights and visa-free travel to Singapore soon, we want to make it even more convenient for Chinese visitors to enjoy Resorts World Sentosa and our highly popular attractions such as S.E.A. Aquarium, Universal Studious Singapore, exciting events, and Chinese dining options, many helmed by renowned celebrity chefs, over key Chinese travel periods such as Lunar New Year, Labour Day, the Summer holidays and Golden Week. With Alipay already widely accepted as a fast and convenient payment mode across Resorts World Sentosa, this payment experience for Chinese visitors at Resorts World Sentosa will definitely be welcomed.”
Alipay+ is widely accepted by merchants in Singapore across key tourists use categories, from taxis and food, to retail and attractions, in addition to SGQR merchants, which includes all hawker centres islandwide. Operating across 57 markets, Alipay+ now connects over 88 million global merchants cross-border to 1.5 billion accounts on over 25 leading e-wallets and payment apps.
Dr Cherry Huang, General Manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services, Ant International, said: “Resorts World Sentosa is a must visit destination for tourists coming to Singapore, and through this expanded partnership, more travellers can now enjoy seamless mobile payments and a more hassle-free experience that will allow them to enjoy the attractions, food and retail options even more. To help businesses in Singapore, big and small, to benefit from the growth in tourism in 2024 and beyond, we’re focused on strengthening our Alipay+ ecosystem locally, by bringing in more users via our payment partners and expanding our merchant coverage through close collaborations with our local partners and our integration with SGQR. We look forward to bringing more innovation to our partners and enhance the digital travel experience for tourists.”
Engaging tourists through campaigns and events at RWS
To better serve the expected increase in tourists during Chinese New Year, RWS and Alipay+ are jointly launching a festive campaign exclusively for Alipay users, where they can access special promotions and privileges within the Alipay app.
For Chinese New Year, Resorts World Sentosa is offering a virtual RMB$128 red packet to Alipay users who can collect it via the Alipay app, which can be used to offset payments for the RWS Mini program and on-site payments. Alipay is also a key payment partner for RWS’ Bai Jiu Shake Up (白酒新韵) event, and Alipay users can enjoy Bai Jiu cocktails with their Chinese New Year dinners at Michelin starred restaurant table65, and CHIFA! where dinner is paired with Bai Jiu cocktails specially created by Bar Sanyou, a brand created by Asia’s 50 Best Bars Hope & Sesame. Alipay users can also enjoy a further RMB150 discount off for Bai Jiu Shake Up when they collect the red packets online.
The partnership will also see both parties jointly introducing campaigns for other Alipay+ partner users throughout the year.
Alipay users can enjoy Bai Jiu cocktails with their Chinese New Year dinners at Michelin starred restaurant table65, and CHIFA! which pair dinner with Bai Jiu cocktails specially created by Bar Sanyou
About Resorts World
Sentosa Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), Asia’s lifestyle destination resort, is located on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa. Spanning 49 hectares, RWS is home to world-class attractions including Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium, Dolphin Island and Adventure Cove Waterpark. Complementing the adventure and adrenaline of its theme parks and attractions are six unique luxury hotels, the premier Resorts World Convention Centre, and a casino. RWS offers award-winning dining experiences and exciting cuisines from around the world helmed by celebrity chefs, establishing itself as a key player in Singapore’s vibrant and diverse dining scene and a leading gourmet destination in Asia for epicureans. The integrated resort also offers world-class entertainment, from star-studded concerts to immersive exhibitions. RWS is the first integrated resort to be inducted into the TTG Travel Hall of Fame in 2023 after being named “Best Integrated Resort” for 10 consecutive years at the TTG Travel Awards, which recognises the best of Asia-Pacific’s travel industry.
RWS is wholly owned by Genting Singapore, a company of the Genting Group. For more information, please visit www.rwsentosa.com.
About Alipay+
Alipay+ is a suite of cross-border digital payment, marketing and digitalization 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.
