[China] iFAST Global Bank and Alipay+ partner for cardless QR payments

On May 11, iFAST Global Bank announced the rollout of “Worldwide Scan & Pay”, a QR-code payment feature powered by Ant International’s Alipay+ network, VisaHQ reports.

The service allows iFAST account-holders to pay at more than 150 million Alipay+-compatible merchants worldwide by scanning a merchant QR code in the bank’s mobile app, with funds debited directly from a multi-currency account. 

Several Asian e-wallets reportedly interoperate with Alipay+, but iFAST is the first fully-licensed UK bank to embed the gateway, giving British expats and business travellers a native option to transact in renminbi without opening a local Chinese bank account or carrying cash.

According to iFAST, payments are settled in real time and support dynamic-currency conversion, letting users lock in exchange rates at the point of sale. 

Ant International stated that the partnership demonstrates “bank-wallet convergence” and will be expanded to include travel-insurance offers and AI-driven spend-management tools. 

For corporates, this means that employees holding an iFAST corporate per-diem account can expense meals and ride-hailing trips instantly; finance teams receive itemised feeds that map merchant category codes to internal cost centres, reducing reconciliation time. 

Regulatory observers have reportedly noted that the deal comes during China’s push to internationalise the digital-payments ecosystem ahead of the 2027 Beijing Universiade. 

The People’s Bank of China has encouraged foreign card-binding and supports pilot use of the digital yuan within Alipay and WeChat Pay. 

iFAST confirmed it will explore digital-renminbi settlement once cross-border rules are finalised. It advises travellers to update the iFAST app before departure and activate roaming SMS to receive one-time passwords. Because many small merchants in China still display static QR codes linked to personal wallets, it advises users to check the Alipay+ logo to ensure corporate-compliant receipts are generated. 

Source: VisaHQ

On May 11, iFAST Global Bank announced the rollout of “Worldwide Scan & Pay”, a QR-code payment feature powered by Ant International’s Alipay+ network, VisaHQ reports.

The service allows iFAST account-holders to pay at more than 150 million Alipay+-compatible merchants worldwide by scanning a merchant QR code in the bank’s mobile app, with funds debited directly from a multi-currency account. 

Several Asian e-wallets reportedly interoperate with Alipay+, but iFAST is the first fully-licensed UK bank to embed the gateway, giving British expats and business travellers a native option to transact in renminbi without opening a local Chinese bank account or carrying cash.

According to iFAST, payments are settled in real time and support dynamic-currency conversion, letting users lock in exchange rates at the point of sale. 

Ant International stated that the partnership demonstrates “bank-wallet convergence” and will be expanded to include travel-insurance offers and AI-driven spend-management tools. 

For corporates, this means that employees holding an iFAST corporate per-diem account can expense meals and ride-hailing trips instantly; finance teams receive itemised feeds that map merchant category codes to internal cost centres, reducing reconciliation time. 

Regulatory observers have reportedly noted that the deal comes during China’s push to internationalise the digital-payments ecosystem ahead of the 2027 Beijing Universiade. 

The People’s Bank of China has encouraged foreign card-binding and supports pilot use of the digital yuan within Alipay and WeChat Pay. 

iFAST confirmed it will explore digital-renminbi settlement once cross-border rules are finalised. It advises travellers to update the iFAST app before departure and activate roaming SMS to receive one-time passwords. Because many small merchants in China still display static QR codes linked to personal wallets, it advises users to check the Alipay+ logo to ensure corporate-compliant receipts are generated. 

Source: VisaHQ