2025 saw a significant surge in tourist spending through Alipay+ in South Korea, with travelers increasingly seeking local experiences. The total number of Alipay+ QR code payment transactions in South Korea surged by 18%, and the total payment volume (TPV) grew by 16% year-on-year. Beauty clinics, transportation, and food and beverage (F&B) sectors are among the fastest-growing categories in spending with Alipay+. South Korea is a top destination for tourists from Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland, with the highest number of Alipay+ transactions in cities like Seoul, Jeju Island, and Busan. In 2025, beauty clinic treatments, transportation, and F&B were the fastest-growing categories for tourists. Besides Chinese mainland tourists, the biggest spenders by the total number of Alipay+-supported transactions in South Korea were tourists from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Macao, and the Philippines, with rapid growth in both transactions and TPV. As of November 2025, Alipay+ has connected 21 international digital wallets and bank apps to over 2 million merchants in South Korea, allowing tourists to pay with their home apps. Alipay+ introduced Japan's leading cashless payment service, PayPay, in September, enabling Japanese travelers to make payments easily in South Korea. Alipay+ trends in South Korea from January to November 2025 showed a 18% year-on-year growth in inbound QR code transactions and a 16% year-on-year rise in TPV. The top regions for Alipay+-supported transactions were the Chinese mainland (Alipay), Hong Kong (AlipayHK), Malaysia (Touch 'n Go e-Wallet), Japan (PayPay), Macao (Mpay), and the Philippines (GCash). South Korean cities with the most spending via Alipay+ were Seoul, Jeju Island, Incheon, Gyeonggido, and Busan. The fastest-growing categories were transportation (120% year-on-year increase in transactions, 23% TPV growth), beauty clinics (90% year-on-year increase in transactions, 123% TPV growth), and F&B (47% year-on-year increase in transactions, 54% TPV growth). Alipay+ empowers local businesses by covering 2 million merchants, most of which are small and medium enterprises, enabling tourists to make seamless payments in various scenarios. Merchants can also use Alipay+ solutions like A+ Rewards, a digital marketing platform, to offer tailored promotions. Travelers can discover services offered by global travel partners within Alipay+ Voyager, an AI-powered travel agent integrated into partner mobile wallets. Weixiao Jiang, General Manager of Alipay+, Ant International, stated that Alipay+ is committed to sustainable travel, empowering local businesses, and enhancing traveler experiences. Alipay+ users can easily pay on popular South Korean transport networks, with partnerships with local bus and taxi networks. Chinese tourists can use Alipay+ partner wallets to buy tickets, book beauty clinic visits, and use transportation passes. Alipay+ has also brought South Korea's leading wallets to over 100 markets, allowing South Korean travelers to make payments abroad. Kakao Pay users can make contactless payments at over 150 million Mastercard merchants worldwide. Alipay+ connects 40 mobile payment partners with over 1.8 billion user accounts to over 150 million merchants across more than 100 markets. Alipay+ has partnered with local companies like i-Aurora to enable foreign visitors to make seamless payments using their existing mobile payment wallets. Tourists can make cashless payments at street vendors in South Korea by scanning i-Aurora's NAMANE payment QR code. Alipay+ and i-Aurora have also launched an Alipay+ transportation card for Chinese tourists and are developing a tech-culture platform, STAN, integrating K-POP concerts and experiences. Alipay+ has a long-standing partnership with Shinsegae Group, accepting Alipay+ as a payment method in their stores and running promotional campaigns.
