Following the introduction of QR-code payment in more than 71,000 taxis in Seoul, all taxis in Seoul will accept Alipay beginning in January 2019. Alipay, the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, can be used by Chinese tourists to pay for taxis in Seoul via its strategic partner kakaopay, which acts as system integrator. In the near future, local users will also be able to pay taxi fare via kakaopay.
Alipay has been collaborating with kakaopay, a Korean mobile payment service, to further promote mobile payment services in the country. Last year, Ant Financial Services Group formed a strategic partnership with kakaopay. Since then, both Alipay and kakaopay have been working to integrate with all partner merchants in Korea. Earlier, Alipay enabled its payment service for taxis in the Pyeongchang and Gangneung areas where the Winter Olympics were hosted in February.
Presently, Alipay is accepted by taxis in more than 15 countries and regions for Chinese users around the world, including China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S., Italy and Australia. Alipay is now available in more than 90% of taxis in primary and secondary cities in China. In addition, 75% of taxis in Singapore accept Alipay, providing a convenient payment method for Chinese tourists.