Philippine Payments Management Inc, which oversees the Philippines’ national QR Ph network, has partnered with Alipay+ to enable Filipino merchants to accept payments from international consumers using their existing QR codes.
The partnership connects QR Ph with Alipay+, Ant International’s unified cross-border wallet gateway, allowing overseas consumers to scan and pay at QR Ph-accepting merchants using their existing e-wallets or banking apps. Customers do not need a local account to complete transactions.
For Filipino businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the integration provides a route into cross-border commerce through their existing QR Ph infrastructure. Merchants can accept payments from users of Alipay+ partner wallets and banking apps, potentially making it easier for international visitors to spend locally.
The move comes as digital payments continue to expand in the Philippines. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2025 Report on E-Payments Measurement shows digital payments accounted for 64.69% of retail transaction volume, while QR Ph transaction volumes increased more than thirteenfold during 2025.
Alipay+ is connected to more than ten national QR payment schemes across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Its network reaches more than two billion consumer accounts and over 50 mobile payment providers across more than 220 markets.
The partnership links a rapidly expanding domestic QR payment network with a wider international payments infrastructure, giving Filipino merchants another way to serve overseas consumers without requiring changes to their existing QR Ph codes.
Philippine Payments Management Inc works with supervised financial institutions to support the shift from cash-heavy to cash-lite transactions, with members participating in the PESONet batch transfer scheme, InstaPay instant transfer scheme, or both.
Philippine Payments Management Inc general manager Carmelita “Melit” Araneta said, “QR Ph has played an important role in advancing a more connected and interoperable digital payments ecosystem in the Philippines, making digital payments more accessible and convenient for businesses and consumers.”
“Through our partnership with Alipay+, we are extending that connectivity beyond our borders, enabling Filipino merchants — particularly SMEs — to serve international customers more seamlessly. This is an important step in bringing the benefits of digitalisation into everyday commerce, while creating new opportunities for Filipino businesses to participate and grow in the global digital economy,” Araneta said.
Alipay+ Global Growth Center general manager Danny Chung added, “Our role is to make it as easy as possible for a customer to pay with the mobile app they already use, while helping the merchant participate in a much bigger marketplace. The Philippines has built a strong digital payments ecosystem through QR Ph, and by connecting that ecosystem with Alipay+, we are helping bring the benefits of digitalisation to the next level, giving Filipino businesses a more seamless way to serve consumers from around the world.”
Copyright © 2026 FinTech Global
