The integration lets international consumers use participating home e-wallets and banking apps at QR Ph merchants across the Philippines.
Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) and Ant International’s unified wallet gateway Alipay+ have enabled Alipay+ on QR Ph, connecting the Philippine digital payments ecosystem with international consumers and cross-border commerce.
The integration supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) digital payments transformation goals. According to the BSP’s 2025 Report on E-Payments Measurement, digital payments accounted for 64.69% of retail transaction volume in the Philippines, while QR Ph transactions increased more than 13 times in 2025.
By connecting QR Ph with the Alipay+ ecosystem, international consumers can use participating home e-wallets and banking apps to scan and pay at QR Ph-accepting merchants nationwide. Local merchants can receive payments from Alipay+ partner users through their existing QR Ph codes, giving businesses, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), another channel for serving international travelers and digital consumers.
From digital payments to cross-border commerce
For Filipino SMEs, digital payments are increasingly becoming more than a way to collect money. Connections between local payment networks and international payment ecosystems can potentially give businesses access to new customers and wider markets.
“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,” said Carmelita “Melit” Araneta, general manager of Philippine Payments Management Inc.
“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 digitalization into everyday commerce, while creating new opportunities for Filipino businesses to participate and grow in the global digital economy.”
The integration effectively extends cross-border payment connectivity into the same QR Ph infrastructure already being used by Filipino consumers and businesses.
“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,” said Danny Chung, general manager of Alipay+ Global Growth Center at Ant International.
“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 digitalization to the next level, giving Filipino businesses a more seamless way to serve consumers from around the world.”
Connecting QR networks across markets
The partnership forms part of Alipay+’s wider strategy of connecting with national payment schemes to expand interoperable mobile payments across different markets.
Alipay+ is now connected with more than 10 national QR schemes across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Its network currently connects more than two billion consumer accounts, over 50 mobile payment providers including e-wallets and bank apps, more than 10 national switches, and QR and NFC merchants across more than 220 markets.
Beyond payment interoperability, Alipay+ is also expanding its suite of AI solutions aimed at helping mobile payment providers and merchants develop their mobile and digital commerce capabilities.
For Philippine merchants, the immediate change is relatively straightforward: businesses already accepting QR Ph can gain access to participating international payment users through the same QR infrastructure, extending the country’s domestic interoperable payments system into a broader cross-border network.