Alipay, the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”), today announced its partnership with local mobile payment system developers TedPay and Valoot to enable Hong Kong taxis to accept payments via Alipay and AlipayHK for the first time. The first tranche of several dozen taxis have already been equipped with an Alipay capability, and the service will be expanded to several thousand more in November.

In recent years, as digital payment services have become ubiquitous in mainland China and developed rapidly overseas, Hong Kong passengers have not been able to enjoy the same convenience. With the rollout of Alipay across Hong Kong’s taxi network, both local residents and mainland visitors can finally benefit from this fintech innovation and pay their taxi fares using one of the Alipay apps in Hong Kong.

Alipay and AlipayHK app users will now be able to settle taxi payments simply by scanning the driver’s QR code and entering the exact fare amount, or showing their user payment code for the driver to scan, before completing the transaction by entering their password. Users will receive an electronic receipt through the app after each payment. Alipay does not charge any additional fees in the process.

Ovidiu Olea, CEO of Valoot, said, “We are thrilled to be able to integrate Alipay's payment system into our taxi App ‘Valoot Pay’. The shared vision of Valoot and Alipay is to promote digital payments in Hong Kong and we look forward to thousands of Hong Kong taxi drivers accepting digital payments in the near future.”  

Venetia Lee, General Manager of Alipay Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, said, “Since AlipayHK’s launch in May, we have been proactively expanding partnerships with businesses and organizations in various industries. We are looking forward to further integrating Alipay and AlipayHK for a truly seamless user experience, and we continue to work toward a comprehensive Alipay offering right across southern China’s Greater Bay Area.”

This partnership strengthens the cooperation between Alipay and Hong Kong SMEs, empowering taxi drivers with a smoother and more efficient payment method, and marks an important step for Hong Kong’s transformation into a smart city. With the latest pilot program, Alipay now covers the three major scenarios of shopping, dining and transportation across the Greater Bay Area.

AlipayHK attracted more than 100,000 active users within the first two weeks of its official launch in May. Nearly half of the 10,000 local businesses that accept Alipay, including convenience stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, wet markets, and most recently more than 1,000 restaurants and the dining facilities in the Public Enclosure of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s racecourse, have now integrated the AlipayHK system to accept Hong Kong dollar payments. In addition to in-store payment services, the AlipayHK app also provides a wide range of lifestyle and convenience services through which users can conduct P2P transfers, pay utility bills, purchase insurance products, receive coupons from restaurant review app Openrice, and more.