LankaPay and Ant International to enable Alipay+ in Sri Lanka

By Gloria Methri

Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network, LankaPay has partnered with Ant International to introduce Alipay+ in the country. This will allow over 400,000 LANKAQR merchants to accept mobile payments from tourists and business travelers using 14 international e-wallets linked to Alipay+.

Alipay+, Ant International’s cross-border payment solution, connects over 1.7 billion users through 36 global e-wallets and banking apps. In the first phase, visitors from 10 countries and regions can scan a LANKAQR code to make payments, just as they would at home.

The e-wallets enabled for payments in Sri Lanka include Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), MPay (Macao SAR), Hipay (Mongolia), GCash (Philippines), Changi Pay and OCBC Digital (Singapore), Touch ‘n Go eWallet and MyPB by Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia), Naver Pay and Toss Pay (South Korea), TrueMoney (Thailand), BigPay (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand), and Tinaba (Italy).

This marks the largest rollout of cross-border mobile payments in Sri Lanka, covering key tourism markets such as China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Italy. Visitors can now use their familiar home e-wallets, making transactions seamless while boosting sales for local businesses.

According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), tourist arrivals grew by 38% in 2024 compared to the previous year. With a goal of 3 million visitors and $5 billion in tourism revenue for 2025, initiatives like Alipay+ aim to enhance the travel experience and support economic growth.

Welcoming Ant International into Sri Lanka, Channa de Silva, CEO of LankaPay, stated, “This partnership connects us with international Alipay+ partner users worldwide, enabling them to make seamless payments during their visit to Sri Lanka, like their experience at home. This collaboration signifies our commitment to enhance payment convenience to tourists and business travellers to Sri Lanka and attract much needed foreign exchange into the country. We aim to support the country’s booming tourism sector with seamless and secure digital payments providing a greater convenience to the travellers whilst providing a cost-efficient digital payment acceptance mechanism to local merchants.”

LANKAQR is a national initiative launched by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to ensure all QR code-based transactions are standardised and interoperable in Sri Lanka. Introduced in 2020, LANKAQR network is managed and operated by LankaPay, providing a platform to connect consumers, banks and merchants into a single payment network across the country.

Edward Yue, General Manager for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Ant International said, “The national LANKAQR infrastructure by the Sri Lanka Central Bank and LankaPay lays a strong foundation for the digitalisation of local businesses and we’re proud to partner with LankaPay to enhance interoperability and connect global customers to the local payment ecosystem. Tourism will be a significant driving force in the global economy, and based on trends we are seeing, Sri Lanka will significantly benefit as travellers seek rich cultural, nature and unique experiences. Beyond payments, Alipay+ also enables merchants to reach travellers through new digital services directly within mobile apps.”

Ant International and LankaPay will increase the acceptance of Alipay+ partner e-wallets in Sri Lanka and collaborate on joint marketing efforts.