TapTechNews July 15th news, according to the report of Interface News, on July 3, 2024, Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, and Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Payments, Trade Solutions and Factoring Business of BNP Paribas, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Zurich. The two sides agreed to formulate a number of important plans, and BNP Paribas will cooperate with Ant International in digital payment and other businesses.
It is known that BNP Paribas will cooperate with Alipay+ operated by Ant Financial, allowing merchants in Europe using BNP Paribas' acquiring services to accept payments through Alipay+. The two sides also agreed to cooperate to strengthen the participation of Ant Group's cross-border payment subsidiary WorldFirst in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) program.
In addition, BNP Paribas will, through Ant International's Whale platform, jointly explore the tokenized deposit innovation of global fund management with Ant International to improve the efficiency of global fund settlement.
TapTechNews noted that in addition to providing convenience for outbound tourists, Alipay announced on July 9 that it will jointly upgrade the payment service with UnionPay International. After inbound guests download and register the Alipay App and bind a UnionPay card issued overseas, they can be just like domestic users, and scan the Alipay QR code to pay at tens of millions of merchants in daily scenarios such as eating, drinking, playing, and shopping. Currently, more than 240 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 81 countries and regions overseas.
Under the guidance and support of the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Alipay has cooperated with Nets Union Clearing Corporation, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and overseas wallets, etc., and was the first in China to obtain the approval of two payment plans for inbound people in 2020, including binding an overseas bank card after downloading the Alipay App (foreign card bound inside) and directly using an overseas electronic wallet to scan the Alipay QR code (foreign package used inside).